Illegal building leads to prosecution
Friday 31 July 2009, 9:26AM
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Building a boat shed without obtaining the necessary consents has cost a couple $4000 plus costs, after they yesterday pleaded guilty to charges brought by Hastings District Council under the Building Act 2002. The couple initially applied for a building consent in January 2005, but cancelled the application two weeks later after correspondence with the Council. Later that year a Building Officer visited the property in response to a complaint, and discovered that building work had been carried out corresponding to the cancelled application. Mayor Lawrence Yule said the Council was seldom forced to prosecute people for illegal buildings, but this was a case of someone knowing the rules and refusing to comply. “The building rules are there to make sure structures are safe and durable, and they are not optional. As the judge said in court, people must not go ahead with major building work unless they obtain the necessary consents.” The cost for a building consent and processing charges would have been approximately $1,000.