Property Hub: Maintenance
Maintenance
Maintaining the interior and exterior of any house or building is important. When appropriate maintenance is carried out on a property the building materials last longer and fewer expensive repairs, if any, are required.
A maintenance schedule can:
help property owners know what they should do to keep the property in good condition
give builders and property owners the details of a building material years after the property was built
reduce a builder’s potential liability if lack of maintenance leads to issues such as weathertightness problems.
Many building elements have a limited serviceable life and part of the inspection process is to identify those that are getting close to needing replacement.
A regular maintenance checklist covers all primary maintenance tasks, including checking the condition of certain building elements (both interior and exterior) – and at what frequencies.
Why do we need building maintenance?
Maintenance is a requirement under the New Zealand Building Code and in the warranties for many building materials. The best way to deal with this is to have a maintenance schedule that shows what work is required for different building elements and the frequency that the maintenance should be carried out.
Regular maintenance keeps buildings safe and free from hazards, such as obstructions or falling objects, or potential health risks to those who live and/or work in the building. Regular maintenance prevents small problems from escalating into big ones needing costly repair. Vestries have a responsibility to be good stewards of parish property which enables mission and ministry to occur. The following websites provide useful information on building maintenance:
Planning for Maintenance (BRANZ Guide)
Church Property Risk Management
Security is crucial for church building due to the unique vulnerabilities and risks associated with such properties. Alongside being places of worship, churches often serve as community hubs, making them targets for theft, vandalism, arson, and other malicious acts.
This document provides guidance on risk management and security measures for church properties to prevent damage and loss.
Repairs and improvements
Please note that all building projects that exceed $20,000/10% of parish assessable income (whichever is lesser) must first go through an Annual General Meeting/Special General Meeting and then be approved by both Diocesan Council and Diocesan Board of Trustees. Contact the Diocesan Property team at property@anglicanmovement.nz in the first instance to receive guidance on this process.
Some repairs need a licensed builder
If you are planning to build, renovate, or repair a house/building, you will need to find out if the work is considered restricted. A licensed builder must carry out any restricted work. Restricted Building Work (RBW) is work that must be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP). The aim of RBW is to ensure that buildings remain structurally sound and weathertight, and it applies to work including:
foundations and structure
external cladding (wall and roof
fire safety systems for houses.
Hiring and paying contractors
Before engaging a contractor, it is best practise to:
ask for and compare multiple quotes, and compare prices against your understanding of current market rates
check your tradesperson is registered
ask the right questions
make sure the brief is clear
finish the project well.
We have a list of approved contractors in Risk Manager - ask your Risk Manager Coordinator to review the list for you. If your contractor is not on the list, ask them to complete the Contractor Checklist and we’ll add them.
1. Get estimates and quotes
An estimate is a best guess of how much a job might cost. A quote is more exact. Once you've accepted a quote, the contractor has to do the work for that price. Shop around and get written estimates or quotes from different companies.
Choose tradespeople that:
are recommended by others — ask friends and family, or check online reviews
have experience doing the type of work you need
you can talk to easily - good communication is the best way to avoid problems down the track.
Read more about Estimates and quotes.
2. Check your tradesperson is registered
Check your tradesperson is licensed for the work you're hiring them to do.
If they aren’t licensed:
you might not be insured for damage caused by poor workmanship
you may not be able to get the certificates needed for council sign-off if the work required consent
their work might be unsafe.
Builders must be registered as an LBP to carry out or supervise restricted building work. Restricted building work includes:
anything to do with the primary structure of the property (including walls, framing, foundations, floors, and roofs)
weathertightness (anything outside of the building which prevents moisture entering your home)
fire safety system design (for attached houses or small apartment buildings).
For work that is not restricted, you can employ builders without a licence – as long as you get any necessary consents and meet the Building Code requirements.
LBP licence classes include:
design
carpentry
roofing
brick and block laying
external plastering
foundations
site.
Each LBP is restricted to working within the work covered by their licence class, and they may be licenced in more than one class. Their LBP licence card will state what type of building work they may do.
Registered architects, plumbers and chartered professional engineers are allowed to do or supervise some restricted building work.
Electricians: To do electrical work, registered electrical workers must hold a current practising licence.
Plumber, gas fitter and drainlayer: A tradesperson must have a licence to legally do any:
sanitary plumbing — fixing or unfixing pipes, plumbing fixtures or appliances
drain laying — installing, altering, or repairing a drain, including gully traps and septic tank drains
gas fitting — installing, altering, or repairing gas appliances, including ventilation, flue pipes and safety checks.
3. Ask the right questions
Check:
your timeframes and budget are realistic
what you want done is possible for the house/building
they have done similar projects before — ask for references
they can start and finish when they say they can — ask what other jobs they are working on
who will be doing the work — them or an apprentice or subcontractor?
4. Make sure the brief is clear
Meet with the LBP to discuss the details of the brief. Ideally, have a document everyone can refer to throughout the project, and update it when things change.
Make sure everyone has a clear understanding of:
the required level of quality and finish
who's responsible for what
contract terms.
Be as detailed as you can be from the start, e.g. specify where lights and power points should go, list all the different appliances and confirm with your main contractor who needs to do what for each thing. Try to confirm as much as you can before work starts, and make sure that anything that is important to you or that involves a lot of money is put in writing.
5. Finish the project well
Finally:
check that your LBP has given you all the paperwork and warranties relating to the job
keep any certificates (e.g. energy work certificates from an electrician or gasfitter) — you'll need these to get council sign-off on the work
notify the Diocesan Property team of the project completion to ensure the Diocese’s insurance providers are aware of the changes.
Damage and Notifiable Incidents
Natural disasters, fires and other perils can cause a variety of damage to buildings which may need to be repaired immediately to minimise possible health and safety risk.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, various types of property damage fall under the legal definition of a ‘notifiable incident’ – an “unplanned or uncontrolled incident in relation to a workplace that exposes a worker or any other person to a serious risk to their health or safety.” These must be reported to WorkSafe in a timely manner.
In the event of any potential ‘notifiable incident’, please contact the Diocesan Safety Officer (healthsafety@anglicanmovement.nz) to receive guidance on how to proceed, including how to engage with WorkSafe should this be required.
Building Warrant of Fitness for churches & Halls
These spaces are often multi-purpose and used by many different individuals and groups – therefore they require more sophisticated systems to keep them running effectively and safely, when compared to residential dwellings.
There are regulations to ensure that specified systems installed in buildings are in good working order so that people can use commercial buildings without any risk to their health and safety. Rules and regulations also apply to the tradespeople who carry out, inspect, and certify any building maintenance and repair work as well.
The local territorial authority issues a compliance schedule to ensure that all specified systems are functional and fit for purpose. The compliance schedule lists the inspections, maintenance, and reporting procedures that the building’s specified systems (such as lifts, fire alarms, and air conditioning) need to meet. This schedule needs to be displayed in a visible location.
What is a Building Warrant of Fitness?
A Building Warrant of Fitness (BWoF) is an annual certificate which confirms that all the specified systems in the building have been inspected and maintained, and the requirements of the compliance schedule have been met. Such systems include fire sprinklers, automatic doors, lifts, smoke detectors, escalators and air conditioning systems. A BWoF assessment must be completed by an Independent Qualified Person (IQP) who is qualified to inspect and report on specified building systems. Once successfully passed, a BWoF must be displayed within the building’s public area, and a copy provided to your territorial authority with supporting IQP certificates of compliance.
How to ensure compliance?
It is the responsibility of the Parish Vestry to comply with all the regulations and following the requirements set out in your building’s compliance schedule. An Independent Qualified Person (IQP) needs to be engaged to inspect and certify the specified systems. Most specified systems require complex inspection and maintenance procedures to be carried out by IQP’s at least annually, but in some cases more frequently, such as six-monthly or quarterly.
To get a BWoF, Form 12A’s are required, which certify that this inspection, maintenance, and reporting of the compliance schedule has been carried out, and these can only be issued by IQP’s. It is important to keep reports detailing the inspections, maintenance, and repairs from the IQP’s who carry out the work, along with the compliance schedule, for at least two years after they have been issued.
If a BWoF is not displayed the building owner can be fined up to $20,000, and if the BWoF has expired, the owner may be prosecuted. Instant fines can also be issued, ranging from $250 to $1000. If the building is allowed to be used when it is not safe or sanitary or has inadequate fire escape, it is an offence carrying a fine of up to $100,000.
