Dennis McMahon McMahon Commercial mcmahoncommercial

I write on behalf of over 600 commercial property owners whom entrust Property Managers Limited to manage their commercial property interests on their behalf.

Our concern is driven from a recent notice by Tauranga City Council advising all building owners and managers that the Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) annual fee is proposed to increase from $54 plus GST to $92 plus GST.

As the commercial property industry continues to be more and more regulated at a national level, the imposition of additional local authority compliance cost is considered unwarranted and counter-productive.

We support the Council's aspirations for the Bay of Plenty in driving economic sustainability and productivity. However, by encumbering businesses with additional compliance costs the council will undermine this aspiration in limiting the provision of quality commercial accommodation for productive businesses within the area.

Whilst this proposal may be considered small in terms of outlay, 'a waterfall begins with only one drop.”

We believe the compliance of commercial buildings is being dealt with in a very satisfactory manner with the use of Independent Qualified Persons (IQP).

Professional compliance reports are compiled by these IQP's who can adequately be relied upon and the City Council merely checks their receipt against the compliance schedule. We therefore struggle to understand the justification of a 70 per cent increase in BWOF fees given the current limited administrative requirement by the City Council.

We trust the Council will take our comments into consideration when finalising the 2013 Annual Plan.