Licencing drive to build confidence in Canterbury construction industry

The Department of Building and Housing hosted a licensing expo at Christchurch Boys' High School last Saturday with this aim.

"For owners, using Licensed Building Practitioners means confidence that homes will be repaired right first time," said Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson.

Licensing under the Department's Licensed Building Practitioners scheme becomes mandatory from March 2012, with the aim of encouraging higher standards in building design and construction.

Since the quake, nearly 1100 builders, designers and tradespeople have been licensed, or have applications in progress in Canterbury. That's a huge boost from about 165 that were licensed before the quake.

Applications have been received at licensing clinics held around the region. The Government wants to see 1600 licensed issues by the end of November.

"The upswing in the number of people licensed to carry out essential building work means that people are going to be able to get back into their homes faster, and can be confident about quality workmanship," said Maurice Williamson.