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Building Amendment Bill NZ: what it means if you're renovating or getting new floors

The Building Amendment Bill would require home warranties on some $100,000+ renovations. Most flooring jobs aren't covered. What changes and how to submit.

Underfoot EditorialPublished 12 min read
Building Amendment Bill NZ: what it means if you're renovating or getting new floors

Not law yet. The Building Amendment Bill lapsed when Parliament dissolved on 1 October 2026, and the new Parliament must decide whether to revive it after the 7 November election. Its main changes were expected in 2028, and the lapse could push that later.

If you’re getting new floors laid, the bill’s home warranty rules are very unlikely to apply to your job. No building consent is needed to replace floor finishes in an existing home (Schedule 1, exemption 12 of the Building Act), and the warranty rules only cover work that needs one. Proportionate liability, the bill’s change to who pays for defects, could still apply to defective flooring work started after that change takes effect.

Installers: that’s the part that affects you. On our reading, it would reach consent-exempt floor work started a year or more after the bill becomes law (before the lapse, MBIE expected the changes to take effect in 2028). See the section for installers and flooring businesses.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Is the Building Amendment Bill law yet? Where it stands

Status as at 27 October 2026

  • Not law. Bill 332-1 (its official number), dated 29 June 2026, would amend the Building Act 2004.
  • Lapsed. Parliament dissolved on 1 October 2026 and unfinished bills lapsed, this one included. A lapsed bill goes no further unless the new House revives it.
  • Next. The election is on Saturday 7 November 2026. The new House can vote to reinstate lapsed bills. That isn’t automatic. It usually happens in the first sitting week.
  • Submissions. Parliament lists the closing date as “N/A”, so earlier advice that submissions close on 15 November is unconfirmed. See how to make a submission.

What to do now

  • New floors only? Nothing, as far as this bill goes.
  • Big consented renovation? Check your builder’s finances and insurance now anyway.
  • Not sure if your job needs consent? Ask your council or check canibuildit.govt.nz.

We’ll update this article once the new Parliament decides the bill’s future.

The Government and MBIE say the bill passed its first reading on 2 July. It then sat with Parliament’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee, and lapsed at dissolution (Constitution Act 1986, section 20, as Russell McVeagh’s October 2026 Watching Brief notes). The new House can vote to reinstate lapsed bills so they pick up where they left off (Russell McVeagh cites Standing Order 84).

Nothing changes for a job you’re doing now. Under the bill as introduced, the main changes would start on the first anniversary of Royal assent (the final step that makes a bill law). Before Parliament dissolved, MBIE said the changes were “expected to take effect in 2028”, and the lapse could push that later.

Does the Building Amendment Bill affect my flooring or renovation job?

For a flooring-only job, the home warranty rules are very unlikely to apply. The reasoning runs in three steps.

  • No consent is needed. MBIE’s guidance on Schedule 1, exemption 12 says: “A building consent is not required to replace or alter a dwelling’s internal linings and wall, ceiling and floor finishes.” That covers new carpet, vinyl, laminate, hybrid, tiles or a timber finish in an existing home, including swapping one for another.
  • Which means it isn’t restricted building work. MBIE is explicit that work exempt from consent under Schedule 1 doesn’t count.
  • No consent, no warranty. The rules only bite on restricted building work that needs a consent. BRANZ reads it the same way: warranties aren’t required for work that doesn’t need a building consent, or for renovations under $100,000.

Price is a second reason a warranty is very unlikely. Flooring a typical 100 m² house comes to roughly NZ$5,000 (mid-range synthetic carpet) to $45,000+ (premium timber) all in. That’s a long way under $100,000. See our cost guide for the full breakdown of what flooring costs installed.

Not in an existing home, although exempt work must still meet the Building Code. Commercial and industrial buildings sit outside exemption 12 (another exemption may still apply), and even at home a few things change the answer:

  • Structural floor work. MBIE’s list of a home’s primary structure includes slabs, joists and composite flooring systems, plus piles, bearers and other subfloor framing. Floor finishes aren’t on it. Replacing joists or bearers, re-piling and slab work can be restricted building work.
  • Subfloor repairs. Replacing rotten joists or bearers found under the old floor is structural work. Ask your council first.
  • Wet areas. MBIE’s exemption 12 guidance says to get advice from a suitably qualified person if you’re not sure whether work could affect Building Code requirements, including internal moisture. If a bathroom or laundry floor involves a new waterproof membrane or changes to a shower, ask your council whether it needs consent.
  • Walls and ceilings. MBIE says wall and ceiling linings often provide bracing and fire resistance, so get advice from a qualified building practitioner before replacing them.

If your floor is part of a larger consented renovation with structural work, the whole project could need a warranty if its estimated value is $100,000 or more. Whether the flooring counts towards that is unknown: the bill lets regulations set how the estimated value is worked out, and none have been written. Ask your council, or check the consent guidance on canibuildit.govt.nz.

What is restricted building work?

MBIE defines it as residential design, construction or alteration work that needs a building consent (or is a granny flat built under the consent exemption) and involves or affects the home’s primary structure, its weathertightness or certain fire-safety design. Only a Licensed Building Practitioner can do or supervise it, unless the owner has an owner-builder exemption. Floor coverings aren’t on the official list of restricted building work for houses and small-to-medium apartment buildings.

The rules that already apply

Part 4A of the Building Act (its consumer protection rules) applies now. Residential building work costing $30,000 or more including GST needs a written contract, plus a disclosure statement and checklist before you sign. Notified defects get a 12-month repair period, and implied warranties last up to 10 years. Schedule 1 calls floor-finish work “building work”, so on our reading Part 4A covers flooring jobs. A whole-house premium timber job can pass $30,000.

Do I need a home warranty for a renovation?

Only if your project passes all three parts of the bill’s test (section 393S):

  • It involves restricted building work.
  • That work requires a building consent.
  • It’s a new house or new small-to-medium apartment building, or a renovation of an existing one where the project’s estimated value is $100,000 or more, including GST.

Regulations not yet written could exclude some classes of work and could set how the estimated value is worked out.

The warranty would be needed before building work can start. Councils would check for it when they grant consent, and could issue a stop certificate halting work until one is provided.

Cover would come from a provider registered with MBIE and run for at least 1 year for defective building work and 10 years for structural defects. Cabinet decided homeowners would buy the warranty and that it must transfer to later owners.

What would a home warranty cost?

MBIE says a warranty generally costs around half a percent of the build cost, and gives a range of about $1,200 to $2,750 for a $500,000 build (roughly 0.25% to 0.55%). It’s paid once and covers structural defects for 10 years. We aren’t recommending any warranty product or provider.

What else the bill changes

Proportionate liability, the big one, gets its own section below. Two other changes don’t affect a floor job. Design consultants (the bill’s examples: architects, designers, engineers and surveyors) on work worth $100,000 or more including GST would need professional indemnity (PI) insurance; builders wouldn’t. And the processing time for a project information memorandum (PIM) would fall from 20 to 10 working days.

What proportionate liability means if your builder goes bust

Today the system runs on joint and several liability, where any one responsible party can be made to pay the whole loss. Under proportionate liability, each party (builder, designer, council and so on) answers only for its own share.

BRANZ (David Hindley, updated 2 September 2026) sets out the risk to homeowners. You could recover only the council’s assessed share of a loss from the council, which law firms estimate “in some cases… may be only about 5–10% of total costs”. To recover everything you’d have to join every responsible party to your claim. BRANZ says the bill “effectively passes the risk associated with a company insolvency from the BCA to the homeowner” (a BCA, or building consent authority, is usually your council). Its advice: check a building company’s financial soundness more carefully before hiring it.

On our reading, a flooring-only job is different. The installer or head contractor is the main party, so the council-share risk BRANZ describes mostly doesn’t arise.

MinterEllison adds that the home warranty’s one-year minimum for non-structural defects “raises concerns about latent defects, such as weathertightness issues”.

Whatever the job size, check who you’re hiring before you pay anything. Our guide to choosing an installer and checking their paperwork covers what to ask.

For installers and flooring businesses

Proportionate liability is the part that affects you. On our reading of the bill as introduced (not a ruling), each party would answer only for its own share, which should limit what you could be made to pay for others’ faults. Lawyers say it’s still unclear whether a head contractor stays liable for its subcontractors’ work. The catch is that your written scope and sign-offs become the evidence of your share.

  • It would very probably cover floor laying. The bill’s “building project work” includes any “building work”, and Schedule 1 calls floor-finish work “Building work in connection with any internal linings or finishes of any wall, ceiling, or floor of an existing dwelling”.
  • When it would start. Proportionate liability would apply to consented work where the consent is issued on or after the first anniversary of Royal assent, and to Schedule 1 exempt work started on or after that date. Most floor laying falls into the exempt group.
  • Jobs on the books now? Unaffected.
  • Keep a paper trail:
    • scope and exclusions
    • subfloor condition and moisture readings, with sign-off
    • the obligations the head contractor passes down to you
  • One question for your insurer: does your defect cover apply to claims made after you’ve finished?
  • The PI insurance requirement is for designers, not builders or installers. And exempt floor-finish work isn’t restricted building work, so it doesn’t need a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP).
  • On our reading, the home warranty isn’t yours to arrange. Cabinet decided homeowners would purchase it, and it’s checked at consent, so on a bigger renovation it isn’t the floor layer’s job. Regulations could change that.
  • Part 4A’s $30,000 written-contract and disclosure rules apply now. Our guide to pricing flooring jobs and writing contracts covers the paperwork.

How to make a submission, and what happens to it

Parliament’s make-a-submission page lists the closing date as “N/A”. It says submissions remain in the care of the Clerk of the House (the official who holds them while there are no committees) until select committees are re-established for the 55th Parliament, the one elected on 7 November. Parliament’s call for submissions (dated 3 September 2026) says submissions “will close early in the 55th Parliament”. If the bill isn’t revived it goes no further, and Parliament says submitters are told the outcome once the new Parliament decides which business to pick up.

Those most likely to want a say: homeowners planning big consented renovations, builders, designers and trades, including floor layers concerned about exempt work.

Unless you’re in that group, wait until the new House decides. We’ll update this page.

If you do submit as a floor layer, say so, then set out how you think exempt floor work should be treated.

  1. Check for a closing date first. MBIE and the Licensed Building Practitioners site said submissions would close on Sunday 15 November 2026 (the LBP site gave 11.59pm), but Parliament’s pages don’t confirm it, so don’t rely on it.
  2. When you’re ready, use the form on Parliament’s call for submissions on the Building Amendment Bill.
  3. Only your name, or your organisation’s name, needs to appear in the submission itself.
  4. Submissions are published on Parliament’s website. Your name is published but your other contact details aren’t. Anything in the submission text can become public, so keep contact details in the contact fields. If you want to include private information, speak to the committee clerk first.
  5. To speak to your submission at a hearing, tick that option on the form.
  6. We couldn’t confirm a word limit.
  7. Questions go to Select.Committees@parliament.govt.nz, Parliament’s contact while committees are disbanded.

Methodology and sources

Checked 27 Oct 202626 sources

Checked on 27 October 2026. Bill wording is paraphrased from the bill as introduced (Bill 332-1), checked against the official text on legislation.govt.nz; the few direct quotes are from that text. Parliament pages were checked directly on 27 October 2026. The statement that no consent is needed to replace floor finishes in an existing home comes from MBIE’s Schedule 1 exemption 12 guidance and the Act. Our conclusions that proportionate liability would very probably reach floor laying and would limit an installer’s exposure to its own share, that the council-share risk mostly doesn’t arise on a flooring-only job, that Part 4A covers flooring jobs, and that the home warranty isn’t the floor layer’s to arrange are our reading of the bill and the Act, not statements from MBIE. Commentary from BRANZ and law firms is attributed to them, not presented as fact. This is general information, not legal advice.

The bill and Parliament (7)
Government and MBIE (12)
Commentary and news (7)

If new floors are next on your list, read our step-by-step guide to what to expect from a flooring installation.

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