Form 12A – Why things aren’t always cut and dried… PLUS an interim solution.

As most of you reading this will know, we have had 12A certificates in place within building legislation for over ten years.
 
These certificates are issued by IQPs to confirm that over the past twelve months a specified system has been tested, inspected and maintained as required by the Compliance Schedule.
 
Since the day those certificates were introduced, professionals have tried to find ways to deal with real life circumstances where these certificates cannot be issued, because believe it or not, like everything in life, processes for testing, inspecting and maintaining, don’t always go to plan.
 
As an example, let’s say:

• An IQP takes over half way through a year from another IQP.
• The owner’s checks have not been completed.
• The system needs maintenance and it cannot be done prior to the beginning of the BWOF cycle.

 
In these circumstances the reporting system is, to put it bluntly… Stuffed.
 
Despite these fairly regular occurrences, the Building Act, 2004 has no provision to address this. Instead, there is an unrealistic expectation that things always go to plan!
 
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has not issued any guidance on this matter, except to reinforce what the law says (which we’ve just established is not always practical). Whilst there is currently a review on BWOFs these matters have not been addressed in ten years! Auckland Council has a long history of a Reports in Lieu procedure (none of which is mentioned within the law).
 
All of this leaves IQPs exposed if he or she is trying to help the client get across the line; of course they cannot misleadingly sign a statutory document, saying things have been done when they have not.
 
Recently, as I’m wont to do… I took steps to help resolve this for my clients. I created two documents to be used in situations like this.

• A Defect Notice, and
• System Status Report

 
I circulated these to my BuildNet members for use to try to underlie the point that IQPs must state facts and encourage owners to create a system which sees the 12A practically being issued each year on target.
 
I was delighted to receive feedback from a client, who had found them useful, and suggested I call these forms exactly what they are…

• Building Networks Form 12B
• Building Networks Form 12C

 
So I am acting on that feedback, from now on I will refer to the Defect Notice as Building Networks Form 12B and the System Status Report as Building Networks Form 12C.
 
Click below to download them, and please use at your own discretion.
 
Defect Notice - Building Networks Form 12B
System Status Report - Building Networks Form 12C

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