First Place Winner, SCL(NZ) Construction Law Essay Prize Competition
New Zealand law has developed in a distinctive way to help homeowners recover their losses when building work goes wrong. This paper looks at what the move to proportionate liability, now introduced to Parliament through the Building Amendment Bill, could mean for homeowners dealing with defective building work. It argues that, although the reform may be fairer for defendants, it creates real risks for homeowners and may undermine New Zealand’s principled commitment to protecting them by reducing their ability to recover fully. Drawing on legislation in the UK and New South Wales, the paper proposes that as a further safeguard Parliament should enact a statutory duty of care for defective residential building work, alongside complementary reforms.