A local affordable housing provider is cautiously optimistic about government changes allowing a wider range of building materials into New Zealand, but warns that the devil will be in the detail.

Building and construction minister Chris Penk said the new legislation, by providing access to more building materials, will make it easier and cheaper to build homes.

“There are thousands of well-made, high performing products that have been tested against rigorous international standards but have faced barriers for uptake here, purely because they have not been specifically tested against our own standards,” the minister said.

He said removing “red tape” will create a more competitive marketplace which, in time, should offer more product choice and lower costs.

Last month thousands of overseas building products were given the green light - via a list of overseas certification schemes that automatically qualify certain products for use in New Zealand - and a second tranche will be added later this year.

Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT), an award-winning local trust which builds homes for low to middle income earners in the district, said the changes could be significant.

“On the face of it, this decision seems like a sensible proposition and we welcome any changes in legislation that result in the reduction of cost of building materials while still ensuring a high standard of quality is maintained,” QLCHT chief executive Julie Scott told the Wānaka App.

“With close to 100 QLCHT homes either under construction or in the planning phase, this could potentially have a real impact on reducing building costs, and the flow on effect for that is a decrease in purchase price for our households.

“However, as with all these legislation changes, the devil is always in the detail.” 

Julie said she would want to see provisions to ensure substandard materials won’t end up in use here.

“No one wants a repeat of the leaky home saga – especially Queenstown Lakes ratepayers, where our council was, unfairly, left as the last man standing.”

Opposition parties are also cautious.

Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter said the changes seem practical but they "could be great or it could be terrible, depending on which building products and which licensing schemes they're looking at".

Industry groups have also backed the move, saying it should help reduce costs and improve productivity.

QLCHT said it took comfort in the fact the changes are not prescriptive.

“We don’t have to change unless we choose to,” Julie told the Wānaka App. “There will simply be more choices available.” 

“...the key to safeguard quality is to not blindly accept material substitution just because something is cheap…[but] capture the opportunity when there is an alternative that genuinely offers a more competitive price point and better performance.”

PHOTO: Wānaka App