Where Building Disputes Go in NZ: The LBP Board, Determinations and the Disputes Tribunal
Quick answer: New Zealand has three formal places a renovation complaint can end up, and each answers a different question. The Building Practitioners Board disciplines licensed building practitioners but cannot award compensation or order a fix. An MBIE determination rules on Building Code compliance and council decisions. The Disputes Tribunal can order money or a work order on claims up to $60,000.
A shower in a Glen Eden bathroom that weeps into the hallway carpet. A deck in Titirangi that falls toward the house instead of away from it. A council in Mt Albert that won’t sign off a code compliance certificate the builder swears is ready. Three very different problems. It’s easy to assume they all go to the same place.
They don’t. New Zealand splits building disputes across three bodies, and each one can only do the thing it was set up to do. A body with no power to order a particular remedy can’t order it, however strong the complaint.
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This article sets out what the law and the agencies themselves say each body does, and what each one can’t do. It describes the system. It isn’t advice on any particular dispute, and the referral lines at the end point to MBIE’s consumer guidance and to your own legal advice. How we price, run and hand over a job sits on our page on taking an Auckland renovation from quote to handover.
Three Bodies, Three Different Questions
The fastest way to see the system is to stop thinking about who to complain to and start with what you want to happen.
The question each one answers
The Building Practitioners Board answers one question: did a licensed building practitioner fall below the standard the Building Act sets for them? If so, it acts against that person’s licence.
An MBIE determination answers a different one: does this building work comply with the Building Code, or was the council’s decision about it right? It rules on the building and the decision, not on the money.
The Disputes Tribunal deals with who owes whom under a contract, and whether work has to be put right. Within a dollar limit.
The three side by side
| Building Practitioners Board | MBIE determination | Disputes Tribunal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deals with | The conduct of a licensed building practitioner | Building Code compliance, and council decisions such as a consent, a code compliance certificate or a notice to fix | Claims founded on contract, and claims for damage to property |
| Can order | Cancellation, suspension or restriction of the licence, censure, training, a fine up to $10,000, inquiry costs | A decision binding on the parties, confirming, reversing or modifying the decision in question | Payment of money, a work order, and varying or setting aside a harsh or unconscionable term |
| Cannot | Award compensation, make the LBP fix the work, or hear payment or contract disputes | Award damages, or deal with workmanship disputes | Hear claims above $60,000 |
| Fee | No fee stated on the Board’s complaint page | $287.50 incl. GST for a house, flat, garage or shed | $62 to $496, depending on the amount claimed |
Every row in that table comes from the Act or the agency’s own page, linked in the sections below.
💡 Quick tip: MBIE’s resolution options page lays out the full set of routes on one screen, from talking it through to the courts. It’s the page this article is built around.
Where the overlap confuses people
The same bad job can touch all three, and that’s where homeowners get stuck. A leaking shower might be poor workmanship under the renovation contract that was signed, work that doesn’t match the consent (a ground for discipline), and the reason the council won’t issue a code compliance certificate (a council decision). Each piece goes to a different body, and none of them will deal with the pieces that belong elsewhere.
The Building Practitioners Board: A Complaint About the Person
Section 315(1) of the Building Act 2004 provides that any person may complain to the Board about the conduct of a licensed building practitioner. Section 315(2) extends that to someone who is no longer licensed, as long as they were an LBP at the time of the conduct.
What the Board needs before it will look at a complaint
The Board’s own making a complaint page sets the conditions. A complaint can’t be anonymous. The person complained about must have been an LBP when the conduct happened. The conduct has to fall within one of the grounds in section 317, there has to be enough evidence to support it, and it goes in on the approved form.
The same page lists reasons a complaint may not go further, including that it was found to be minor or trivial, or that the Board has already decided on the same conduct.
The grounds the Act sets
Section 317(1) lists the grounds for discipline. Three are the ones renovation complaints usually turn on. The Board may act where an LBP has carried out or supervised building work in a negligent or incompetent manner (s 317(1)(b)), where the work doesn’t comply with the building consent (s 317(1)(d)), or where the LBP failed without good reason to provide a record of work on completion of restricted building work (s 317(1)(da)(ii)). The full list is in section 317.
What the Board can do to an LBP
Section 318 sets the penalties. The Board may cancel the person’s licensing and set a period before they can reapply, suspend it for up to 12 months, restrict the type of work they can do, censure them, or order training. It may also impose a fine of up to $10,000 alongside a suspension or censure, and order the LBP to pay the costs of the inquiry.
MBIE’s page on how to complain about a building practitioner adds that the Board records disciplinary action on the public LBP register for three years.
What the Board cannot do
For a homeowner, this is the limit that matters most. MBIE states plainly that the Board cannot award the complainant any compensation or make the LBP fix defective work. It also can’t hear payment disputes or commercial and contractual disputes. A Board decision can end with a practitioner suspended and fined, and the homeowner no better off financially.
That’s not a flaw in the Board. It’s a disciplinary body for a licensing scheme, and that’s all it was built to be.
💡 Quick tip: Only licensed building practitioners come under the Board. MBIE’s complaint page notes that a complaint about someone who wasn’t licensed at all goes to MBIE’s Occupational Licensing Team or the council instead.
On our side, we have an in-house Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP #BP156911) providing oversight of process, documentation, workmanship and compliance on consent-related work, and that licence number can be checked on the public LBP register. The LBP’s oversight runs through the project management department that owns each build from start to finish.
MBIE Determinations: A Ruling on the Code or the Council’s Decision
A determination is the route people reach for when they’re arguing with the council, or when nobody agrees whether something complies.
What a determination decides
Under section 177 of the Building Act, a party may apply to MBIE for a determination on whether particular matters comply with the Building Code, and on a building consent authority’s or council’s decision about matters including a building consent, a code compliance certificate and a notice to fix.
MBIE’s determinations page describes them as legally binding decisions for matters of doubt or dispute under the Building Act and Building Code. It also says they are not for disputes about workmanship, and that most determinations are about a decision made by a council. In Auckland, that council is Auckland Council.
Who the parties are
Section 176 defines who counts as a party. The list includes the council, the building consent authority, the owner, and the licensed building practitioner concerned with the building work. MBIE’s page gives worked examples, among them an owner who has been refused a code compliance certificate for a building that appears complete and that they believe complies. How consent and sign-off fit into a renovation programme is covered in our walk-through of building consent on an Auckland renovation.
Section 188(2) settles the weight of the outcome. A determination is binding on the parties concerned.
What it costs, and what it won’t give you
MBIE’s applying for a determination page sets a fixed fee of $287.50 including GST for single houses, attached houses, flats and apartments of four units or less, and garages and sheds. Other buildings are $575.00.
The same page is direct about the limit. A determination is not a channel for seeking damages, and costs are not normally reimbursed. A party may be awarded costs where another party caused unreasonable costs or delays.
If a party disagrees with the result
Section 208 of the Act makes a determination appealable to the District Court by the applicant or any other party, and section 209 sets the window: 15 working days after the date of the determination.
💡 Quick tip: MBIE publishes past decisions on its determinations issued page. They’re fact-specific and don’t set general rules, but they show the kind of question MBIE actually takes on.
The Disputes Tribunal: Money and Work Orders up to $60,000
Of the three, this is the only one with power to order someone to pay or to put work right.
What the Tribunal can hear
Section 10 of the Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 gives the Tribunal jurisdiction over claims founded on contract or quasi-contract, and claims in tort for damage to property. Section 10(3) sets the ceiling. A claim is within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction only if the total amount sought does not exceed $60,000, and that total includes the value of any work order sought.
The Ministry of Justice’s list of what the Tribunal can help with names disputes about whether a tradesperson has done work properly, and about the amount charged for work done.
What the Tribunal can order
Section 19(1) sets out the orders. The Tribunal may order a party to pay money to another party, or make a work order against a party. Where it finds an agreement or a term of one harsh or unconscionable, it may vary it or set it aside.
A referee, not a judge, and no lawyers
MBIE’s Disputes Tribunal and courts page describes a referee rather than a judge, and states that a lawyer cannot represent a party. That reflects section 38(7) of the Act, which bars the Tribunal from approving as a representative anyone who is or has been enrolled as a barrister and solicitor, subject to narrow exceptions. The same MBIE page notes that a party may still take legal advice beforehand.
The filing fees
The Tribunal’s forms and fees page scales the fee to the amount claimed:
| Total amount claimed | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Less than $2,000 | $62 |
| $2,000 or more but less than $5,000 | $124 |
| $5,000 to $30,000 | $248 |
| $30,001 to $60,000 | $496 |
The page states the fees are non-refundable, although a referee may order the other party to pay the filing fee back.
Where the courts come in
Above $60,000, or to enforce a Tribunal decision, MBIE points to the District Court. MBIE’s guidance also states that invoking the Building Act’s implied warranties means taking the matter to the District Court or High Court, depending on the value of the work. What those warranties are, and the 12-month defect repair period that sits beside them, is covered in our guide to what goes into a renovation contract in New Zealand.
💡 Quick tip: Section 10(3) counts the value of any work order sought toward the $60,000 total, alongside any money claimed. The limit applies to the whole claim, not to each part of it.
Before Any of Them: Mediation, Adjudication and the Contract
None of the three bodies is the first step MBIE describes. Its resolution options start with the people involved talking the problem through, then checking the contract.
What the contract already says
MBIE’s resolution options page points first to the contract, and notes that where there is no contract, or no clause that applies, default clauses within the Building Act might apply. What those defaults are, and when a written contract is required in the first place, is covered in our explainer on the $30,000 written-contract threshold and the contract guide above. We won’t restate them here.
Mediation, adjudication and arbitration
MBIE’s page on mediation, arbitration and adjudication describes three third-party options.
- Mediation: both parties agree to take part and agree on a mediator, who helps them reach agreement but doesn’t make a decision.
- Adjudication: a fast-track process under the Construction Contracts Act that applies to all construction contracts, written or verbal. MBIE notes its orders are interim, though parties often accept them without going further.
- Arbitration: both parties agree to it and on the arbitrator, and the arbitrator’s decision is binding and enforceable by a court.
How payment claims and schedules work under that same Act, and why its retention-money rules don’t reach a homeowner’s contract, is set out in our article on who the Construction Contracts Act actually protects.
The defect period
MBIE lists the Building Act’s 12-month defect period, running from practical completion, among the consumer protections that apply to all residential building work. What a homeowner sees during that year, and what a proper handover looks like, is the subject of our renovation aftercare guide.
Important note: Everything in this article describes what the legislation and the agencies say each body does. Which route suits a particular dispute depends on its facts, and that’s a question for MBIE’s consumer guidance and your own legal advice.
Why the System Rewards a Clear Paper Trail
Read the three bodies’ requirements together and a pattern shows up. The Board won’t take an anonymous complaint and wants a named practitioner and evidence. A determination turns on whether the work complies with the Code, or whether a council decision on a consent or a code compliance certificate was right. The Tribunal hears claims founded on contract.
Every route starts from documents that existed before anything went wrong. The contract, the consent and its plans, and the record of work handed over at the end of restricted building work are where each of these questions begins.
That’s the reason we quote the whole job in full on a fixed-price contract set out before work begins, with one in-house project manager as the point of contact from start to handover. None of that makes a dispute impossible. It means that if one ever happens, the paperwork everyone reaches for already exists.
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Who do I complain to about a builder in New Zealand?
It depends on what the complaint is about. Section 315 of the Building Act 2004 allows any person to complain to the Building Practitioners Board about the conduct of a licensed building practitioner. MBIE determinations deal with Building Code compliance and council decisions. The Disputes Tribunal hears contract claims and property-damage claims up to $60,000. MBIE's resolution options page on building.govt.nz sets out all the routes, starting with talking the problem through and checking the contract.
Can the Building Practitioners Board award compensation?
No. MBIE's page on complaining about a building practitioner states that the Board cannot award the complainant any compensation or make the LBP fix defective work, and cannot hear payment, commercial or contractual disputes. Under section 318 of the Building Act the Board can cancel, suspend or restrict an LBP's licensing, censure them, order training, fine them up to $10,000 and order them to pay the costs of the inquiry.
What can I complain to the LBP Board about?
Section 317 of the Building Act lists the grounds for discipline. They include carrying out or supervising building work in a negligent or incompetent manner, building work that does not comply with a building consent, and failing without good reason to provide a record of work on completion of restricted building work. The Board's own page states that complaints cannot be anonymous and must be made on the approved form with supporting evidence.
What is an MBIE determination?
MBIE describes determinations as legally binding decisions for matters of doubt or dispute under the Building Act and Building Code. Under section 177 of the Act a party may apply for one on whether building work complies with the Building Code, or on a council decision about matters such as a building consent, a code compliance certificate or a notice to fix. MBIE states that determinations are not for disputes about workmanship.
How much does a determination cost?
MBIE's applying for a determination page sets a fixed fee of $287.50 including GST for single houses, attached houses, flats and apartments of four units or less, and garages and sheds, and $575.00 for other buildings. MBIE states that a determination is not a channel for seeking damages and that costs are not normally reimbursed, although a party may be awarded costs where another party caused unreasonable costs or delays.
What is the Disputes Tribunal limit for building disputes?
Section 10(3) of the Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 provides that a claim is within the Tribunal's jurisdiction only if the total amount sought does not exceed $60,000. Where a work order is sought, the value of that work counts toward the total. MBIE's guidance states that the District Court is the route for claims above that amount or to enforce a Tribunal decision.
Can the Disputes Tribunal order a builder to fix work?
Section 19(1)(d) of the Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 allows the Tribunal to make a work order against any party to the proceedings, and section 19(1)(a) allows it to order a party to pay money to another. The Ministry of Justice lists disputes about whether a tradesperson has done work properly among the disputes the Tribunal can help with. Any work order counts toward the $60,000 limit.
Can I have a lawyer at the Disputes Tribunal?
MBIE's Disputes Tribunal and courts page states that a lawyer cannot represent you at the Tribunal, where a referee rather than a judge hears the dispute. Section 38(7) of the Disputes Tribunal Act 1988 bars the Tribunal from approving as a representative anyone who is or has been enrolled as a barrister and solicitor, subject to narrow exceptions. MBIE notes that a party may still seek legal advice before the hearing.
How much does it cost to file a Disputes Tribunal claim?
The Disputes Tribunal forms and fees page sets the filing fee by the amount claimed: $62 for less than $2,000, $124 for $2,000 to under $5,000, $248 for $5,000 to $30,000, and $496 for $30,001 to $60,000. The page states fees are non-refundable, although a referee may order the respondent to pay back the filing fee.
Can a determination be appealed?
Yes. Section 208 of the Building Act 2004 makes a determination subject to appeal to the District Court by the applicant or any other party to it. Section 209 requires the notice of appeal to be filed within 15 working days after the date of the determination, or after the date MBIE amends it by way of clarification.
Further Resources for your renovation planning
- Featured projects and Client stories to see specifications on some of the projects.
- Real client stories from Auckland
Need more information?
Take advantage of our FREE Complete Home Renovation Guide (48 pages), whether you’re already renovating or in the process of deciding to renovate, it’s not an easy process, this guide which includes a free 100+ point check list – will help you avoid costly mistakes.
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References
Current as at 06 Oct 2026. Sources are linked throughout. For consumer-protection guidance see building.govt.nz, and seek your own legal advice for your specific situation.
- Building Act 2004, sections 176, 177, 188, 208, 209, 315, 317 and 318 — New Zealand Legislation
- Disputes Tribunal Act 1988, sections 10, 19 and 38 — New Zealand Legislation
- Resolution options — Building Performance (MBIE)
- Complain about a building practitioner — Building Performance (MBIE)
- Making a complaint — Licensed Building Practitioners
- Determinations — Building Performance (MBIE)
- Applying for a determination — Building Performance (MBIE)
- Disputes Tribunal and courts — Building Performance (MBIE)
- Mediation, arbitration and adjudication — Building Performance (MBIE)
- What the Tribunal can help with — Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand
- Forms and fees — Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand
