Overseas products consumer protection

These changes remove barriers to overseas building products being recognised in Aotearoa/New Zealand that are tested or certified against standards or schemes that ensure building products are equal to, or better than what we already have in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

However, there will always be some level of risk when building and when something goes wrong, there can be more than one cause. For example, a problem could include a product defect, product failure or an incorrect installation.

This is why the Building Act has consumer protections that apply to overseas building products that are used in building work. These provisions include:

• implied warranties to protect residential building work which are automatic and cover almost all aspects of building work from compliance with the Building Code, to good workmanship and timely completion of building work.
• a 12-month defect repair period. If any defects in the building work emerge within 12 months of the completed build date, the builder has an obligation to fix them.

In addition, the Building Product Information Requirements will require manufacturers and importers to provide publicly accessible and accurate information about their products online.

Visit Building Product Information Requirements for more information

Visit consumer protection for more information

Additional information

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If you have any questions or enquiries, please email building@mbie.govt.nz