Property developer Mike Greer Homes is calling for more accountability from Auckland Council-owned Watercare over the cost of consenting delays.
A new south Auckland development has been held up for months as the property developer waits for the council service's approval - and it could end up costing a home buyer thousands of dollars.
Auckland man Logan won a KiwiBuild ballot in May last year for a $650,000 house in a Mike Greer Homes development in Mangere. It needs a Council Code of Acceptance from Watercare for a new water pipe.
"From what I understand with the developer, the build was completed in March of this year and ever since then it's been delay after delay, month by month," Logan told Newshub.
Emails show Mike Greer Homes told Logan in April it was having "complications" getting the go-ahead from Watercare. And two months later, the housing developer is still waiting.
"It is quite disappointing," says Logan.
The delay puts Logan's bank finance at risk because he got his pre-approval a year ago and it lapses next month.
Mortgage advisor Jamie Sanderson told Newshub it's not uncommon.
"Twelve-month delays equate to roughly a 2 percent rise in interest rates so on an average home loan of about $600,000, it's going to be about $8000 per year that people are going to have to budget for."
And it's not just Logan affected. Mike Greer Homes told Newshub another one of its customers has been living in a garage while they wait to move into their home.
"For the council and Watercare, what they need to remember is there are first-home buyers and other home buyers at the end of this," Sanderson told Newshub.
"I understand that they've got red tape but it's really important that it is costing people extra because of the time things are taking."
Mike Greer Homes says it wants more accountability from consenting organisations like Watercare over the cost of delays.
"We are seeing delays across all consenting processes required to approve our developments. The processes are fragmented and overly onerous."
For its part, Watercare says it aims to review all applications for Code of Acceptance within 10 days, but complex developments can take longer.
The service needs to make sure water infrastructure is structurally sound and protected against contamination.
"This is ultimately to ensure that Aucklanders have access to safe and functioning water and wastewater services now and into the future," said Shane Lawton, Watercare's head of developer services.
It comes at a time when property developers are already under immense pressure, explains Sam Stubbs, chief executive of property developer Simplicity.
"By our count, about 93 have gone bust in the first part of this year and one of those reasons has been the inability to access materials at reasonable prices," he told Newshub.
It's a sector battling the odds, and red tape, to get Kiwis like Logan into their first homes.
Watercare later told Newshub it was waiting on some final paperwork from Mike Greer Homes before it could give the final sign-off on the Mangere development.
"The information provided to date has been insufficient and we are waiting on correct, as-built drawings that match the site inspections we've done. We need these to be accurate as the information is loaded into our systems to assist our team with the future operation and maintenance of these assets."
Mike Greer Homes responded, telling Newshub yes, there is some pending paperwork, but that the back-and-forth with Watercare has dragged on for months, and they just want to sit down with the council service to get the issues resolved quickly.
"We have been in contact with Watercare about this pipe since early this year. There are a multitude of steps and they are slow to respond to all of these steps," a spokesperson said.
"We still have a multitude of steps after getting Certificate of Acceptance which includes, Watercare services issuing the invoice for payment to release of Certificate of Acceptance then Engineering Approval with Auckland Council, then we need to submit for titles with land Information New Zealand all of which requires the Certificate of Acceptance to progress."
