Legal Publications - Duncan Cotterill

Publications

We produce a range of articles, legal publications and resources on a wide range of legal subjects and hot topics critical to our clients needs. These include briefings on key legal issues, newsletters on practice areas and industry developments via the below headings.

Climate Change to be a heightened focus of the Building Act 2004

Severe weather events in Summer 2022/2023 have brought climate change and its interaction with the built environment to the front of mind for many. To support the Government’s goal of net zero carbon by 2050, the Government proposed late last year to amend the Building Act 2004 to reduce More »

Cyclone Gabrielle recovery: practical tips for commercial and residential construction

On this page you can find information for businesses in the construction sector about what to do following the recent extreme weather events. As the fallout of Cyclone Gabrielle continues to impact much of the North Island, many homeowners and building professionals are continuing to deal with More »

Storms, floods and construction

The devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and other recent extreme weather events has caused widespread damage and distress. One of the many sectors significantly impacted is the construction sector with flooded and damaged sites, equipment and materials, access issues and significant workforce More »

Commercial Construction Contracts in the aftermath of the recent severe weather and flooding

The vast flooding and devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle across Hawkes Bay and Gisborne continues to significantly impact people, homes and businesses across New Zealand including damage to key infrastructure and disruption to construction projects. It is important to understand the More »

Residential properties: understanding your contractual obligations after a severe weather event

As the fallout of Cyclone Gabrielle continues to impact much of the North Island, many homeowners and building professionals are continuing to deal with flood and other damage to homes, businesses, and construction sites. Assessing the site and any damage Residential builds If you haven’t More »

Residents' Associations part of new regime

Residents' Associations fall under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022 changes. The new Act looks to modernise and regulate the law relating to incorporated societies, which will have a big impact on all existing incorporated societies, particularly Residents' Associations. Three key More »

The role of the developer in off-the-plans house sales and the overlooked protection condition

New build exemptions and benefits have supported the residential development market for the last few years. Even with the current economic climate—increasing construction costs and delays due to supply chain and workforce issues—buying off the plans is still a favourable option for More »

Webinar: Construction risk - how you can gain control

This tumultuous time in the construction sector means it is even more pertinent to manage risks. In this 1 hour and 6 minute webinar, Duncan Cotterill construction Partners Julia Flattery and Tanya Wood co-present with BDO Advisory Partners James MacQueen and Nick Innes-Jones and cover how to set More »

Court of Appeal issues reminder about importance of following the payment claim process

The Court of Appeal has recently overturned a decision of the High Court, issuing a reminder that if a valid payment claim is issued under the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA) it must be challenged under the CCA with a payment schedule if payment is to be avoided ( Demasol Ltd v South Pacific More »

Changes to the construction contract retention money scheme are on the way

Amendments to the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA) which will strengthen and clarify the retention money scheme have recently been considered by Parliament. More »

Pulling its punches: Does the Commerce Commission’s draft report of the residential building industry address the key issues?

Significant changes to regulation of the residential building supply sector are proposed by the Commerce Commission in its current study of the sector, but they may not address key underlying issues. What are the key findings in the Commerce Commission draft report? The Commission’s More »

Government announces review of the building consent system

Housing Minister, Hon Dr Megan Woods, has announced an end-to-end review of the building consent system. The aim of this review is to modernise the building consent system to respond to increasing demand and to reflect changes in the building and construction sector since the system was established More »

Webinar: Practical approaches to insolvency risk in construction projects

Understanding and managing the key risks in a construction project is more important than ever and becoming increasing more difficult in the current rapidly changing market. In this one hour webinar, Duncan Cotterill commercial Partner Julia Flattery and litigation Special Counsel Jonathan Forsey More »

Webinar: Building and construction law update

There have been a number of law changes and events over recent years that have impacted on the building industry, including but not limited to, building supply shortages, COVID-19, subcontractor contract issues, the evolution of prefabricated building products and the recent introduction of More »

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: When is a contractor not a contractor? When he’s an employee.

It was the employment law theme for 2020 and, just as we were beginning to get distracted by Fair Pay Agreements and changes to holidays legislation, here it comes again: the Employment Court has just decided that Ross Barry, the builder applicant in Barry v C I Builders Ltd [1] , was for three More »

High Court clarifies the extent of a builder’s personal liability

A recent High Court decision in a building negligence case ( Palmer v Hewitt Building Limited & Anor [2021] NZHC 1460) has clarified some important issues that regularly occur: what is the application of the statutory warranties under the Building Act 2004 ( Act ); and to what extent is a More »

New legislation to clarify the construction contract retention money scheme

The Government has introduced new legislation to strengthen and clarify the retention money scheme established in the Construction Contracts Act 2002 ( CCA ). What is retention money? Retention money is an amount held back from a payment made under a construction contract. It is usually a More »

For want of a nail…building supply shortages

We recently provided an article on the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, Ports of Auckland delays and spike in construction activity on the supply of building materials and shortage issues that were developing. Further reports this week have shown that this situation is worsening and is likely to be More »

Speeding up construction: prefabricated building products

We are all acutely aware of the current housing shortage in New Zealand and particularly the need for good quality affordable homes. The recent uptake in use of prefabricated building products in residential construction is a good solution to not only ease the housing shortage but also drastically More »

COVID-19 – Building supply shortages

Reports this week have shown that the COVID-19 restrictions are continuing to have an impact on the construction industry. When the national lockdown was imposed last year we, and others, commented that one of the effects of that, along with the imposition of border restrictions and the global More »

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