Lockdown ripple effect sees fireplace compliance fees refunded

Two new fireplace owners in the Marlborough Sounds have been refunded several hundred dollars after council officers could not travel for compliance checks during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Marlborough District Council issued a partial refund to the pair earlier this year after it was pointed out they had paid for boat travel, despite inspectors never coming out.

Installing a fireplace was considered essential work by the Ministry of Building, Innovation and Employment during alert levels three and four, so installers were exempt from the Government’s strict rules, but council inspectors were not.

The council did not provide a dollar value of the refunds, but a fireplace installer, who does not want to be named, said their client on Arapawa Island was refunded $686.

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The installer asked the council to refund the client’s boat fee after realising its staff would not be inspecting the fireplace.

Instead, the council had set up an alternative approach.

Installers had to send over pictures of the fireplace – showing details like its hearth size, distance from walls, earthquake restraints and nearby smoke alarms – and a statement they had installed the fireplace to building codes.

This was on top of the usual standard paper work.

The council compared an installer’s evidence against the building’s consent documents to see if heating work was compliant, which took more administration time than usual.

If satisfied, staff then issued a compliance certificate, although several consents had required follow-up evidence.

It received a total of two requests for travel refunds.

Council building control group manager Bill East said after reviewing the requests, the council decided to charge the homeowners as if the works had occurred in Blenheim and not in the Marlborough Sounds, which included boat travel.

The difference was credited back.

Building consent fees were between $480 and $715 cheaper in Blenheim than the inner and outer Marlborough Sounds.

Each zone fee included travel and site inspection costs, alongside consent processing, granting and issuing costs.

“Fees for this type of work are purposely designed to encourage compliance … and don’t always cover the full consenting process cost to the council,” he said.

The council did not reduce consent fees outside of the Sounds by travel or site inspection costs during the lockdown, as this was balanced out by added office work.

Arrow Water Taxis owner Paul Quinn said it cost $270 for up to four people to boat to Okukari Bay, on the southern end of Arapawa Island, but the council often waited until there were several travelling in a direction before booking a water taxi.

Trade workers, like the council, also asked taxis to wait for staff to finish jobs due to health and safety reasons, he said.

This cost $80 an hour.

“They do do their best to keep pricing down,” he said.

The council resumed its standard fireplace inspections when New Zealand moved to alert level two, on May 13.