Illegal kitchen brings $13,000 fine

Illegal building works, including the creation of a second kitchen, has given a Glenfield property owner food for thought in the form of a $13,000 fine.

Kam Fai Leung had obtained building consent to extend his Seaview Rd property, but shortly after the final building inspection by North Shore City Council building inspectors, he carried out additional illegal work on the house.

Mr Leung was charged under both the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Building Act 2004 after ignoring the advice of a council officer who visited his property and warned him not to do further building work without consent.

Mr Leung proceeded to convert the property into two separate units adding a second kitchen in the process. Appearing last week at the Auckland District Court, Mr Leung was fined $7,000 under the Building Act for permitting building work to be carried out on his property without first obtaining building consent. He was penalised a further $6,000 under the RMA for breaching the rule governing the number of dwelling units allowed on the property. Court and solicitors' costs were also imposed on the defendant.

North Shore City's compliance and monitoring team leader, David Frith, says illegal units are a real concern to the council.

"We won't tolerate the flouting of the building regulations which often result in poor workmanship and buildings that are not safe for the occupants," he says.

"In this case, the owner clearly knew of the requirement to obtain a building consent as he had been through the process before. Unwisely for him, he chose not to heed our warnings.

"We'd recommend anyone thinking of buying a property in North Shore City to obtain a LIM (Land Information Memorandum) and to check out our council records to confirm that unauthorised additions have not been made to the property. This simple action could avoid liability and insurance problems in the future," says Mr Frith.