You can search the online public register to find an LBP, check that a person is licensed and see if they have been disciplined in the last 3 years. You can also ask to see the photo licence card of a licensed practitioner.

Registered architects and chartered professional engineers are treated as LBPs in the design class. This means that they can design or supervise the design of RBW.

Restricted Building Work is work that requires a building consent and involves work on:

• foundations and structure
• external cladding (wall and roof)
• fire safety systems for houses.

RBW does not include demolition or removal work.

There is an exemption that allows homeowners to do RBW on their own homes. They need to complete a statutory declaration signed by a Justice of the Peace and give this to the council when submitting the building consent application. The fact that the homeowner has done this work themselves will be noted on the Land Information Memorandum and be accessible by potential future buyers of the house. Note that this exemption does not apply to certain specialised plumbing, drain-laying, gas-fitting and electrical work that must still be carried out by suitable qualified people.

MBIE has produced useful guidance documents that can be found here.