Man fined $1,875 for illegal plumbing

Media release

12 January 2014

Man fined $1,875 for illegal plumbing

The recent conviction of a New Plymouth man has served as a timely reminder to plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers to ensure they relicense by 1 April 2015, or they will be unable to legally undertake work in New Zealand.

Darren Brown replaced a tempering valve on a hot water cylinder, and installed a new bath, vanity and shower at a home in Inglewood but was not authorised at the time he carried out the work.

Plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying are regulated trades in New Zealand, and it is illegal for anyone to do this work unless they are lawfully authorised.

Mr Brown pleaded guilty to carrying out sanitary plumbing unlawfully in the New Plymouth District Court on Friday 9 January, and was fined $1,875 plus court costs of $130 and solicitor’s fees of $113.

The role of the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board is to help keep consumers safe by ensuring that this work conducted across New Zealand is of a high quality.

There are serious health and safety risks associated with sanitary plumbing carried out by an unauthorised person. Any defective plumbing work has the potential to cause disease and serious damage to the home.

The Board’s Chief Executive, Max Pedersen reminds tradespeople that the new licensing year is fast approaching and is encouraging all plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers to make sure they have a licence.

“They also need to ensure they have enough continuing professional development points in order to relicense”, said Mr Pedersen.

In January 2015, the Board stepped up its public awareness drive with a three month national digital marketing campaign, warning homeowners not to use unlicensed tradespeople for plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying work over the summer break.

Homeowners should not risk their family’s health and safety or their insurance by hiring unauthorised tradespeople. Authorised tradespeople need to carry a current authorisation card. Consumers should always ask for this card before any work commences to be assured that the work is being done by a competent tradesperson.

You can check to see if a person is authorised by searching our online public register at www.pgdb.co.nz or phone us on 0800 743 262.

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