About this programme
In 2014, BRANZ worked with the industry to identify the best way to collect data on the incidence of quality issues in new-build housing. Industry stakeholders, who represented a variety of commercial and residential builders and designers, overwhelmingly stressed the need for an independent inspection of buildings to understand how new- build quality is changing. BRANZ then undertook inspections of new housing throughout the construction process. The survey found that approximately 8% of new houses inspected had some form of compliance defect, indicating serious concerns about each of those houses. Most houses had some form of quality or appearance defect. The average number of quality or appearance defects was four per house. This follow-up study will assess the impact of our prior research and how quality incidences have changed since 2014. It will allow BRANZ to understand what the incidence of each type of defect is and what components these defects are affecting. Being able to quantify how quality has changed over the past five years will help us understand the impact of our previous work on eliminating quality issues. It will also focus future research on areas of high need, particularly if the incidences of quality identified are different from the 2014 results. The goal of this research is to reduce the incidence of common quality issues in new build residential properties by providing greater technical information on high-incidence quality issues.