The Building Practitioners Board ordered a 10-year licence suspension today for an Auckland builder - the strongest penalty ever handed down by the group.
The punishment came as the result of a semi-rural lifestyle block in Auckland's Franklin district that authorities described as severely neglected.
Misi Sau Evile, who went bankrupt before the project was completed, left the job for such long periods of time that nails rusted and timber framing began turning black, authorities alleged.
"The property owners provided evidence showing Mr Evile underquoted the job by almost $250,000 and only allocated six months to the build," said Building Practitioners Registrar Paul Hobbs, adding that the builder flouted the law by not keeping a record of work.
"The Board found it was likely Mr Evile simply agreed to the build for the amount of money the homeowners had available, rather than actual build costs," Mr Hobbs said in a statement released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
There is evidence that "honesty and integrity" was not being exercised, Mr Hobbs said, suggesting that consumers always get a second opinion about price.
"There is no doubt that this behaviour posed a genuine risk to the public," he said.
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