IQP Reporting — What Building Owners Are Required to Do

If your building has a compliance schedule — and most commercial, industrial, and public buildings do — you have annual obligations under the Building Act 2004. IQP (Independent Qualified Person) inspections are not optional, and the reporting requirements are stricter than many building owners realise.

A compliance schedule lists the specified systems in your building that must be inspected and maintained. Common specified systems include lifts and escalators (SS8), cable cars (SS16), Building Maintenance Units (SS10), and certain fire safety systems. For each of these, an IQP must inspect the system annually and submit a Form 12A certificate of compliance to your territorial authority.

What the 2024 guidance clarifies:

Annual IQP inspection must be completed within the 12-month window — there is no grace period. A late Form 12A is a compliance failure, not an administrative issue. Councils are becoming stricter about enforcement, and building owners who cannot produce current certificates face the possibility of a compliance schedule amendment notice or worse.

The IQP must be approved for the specific specified system they are inspecting. Not all IQPs are approved for all systems — a lift IQP is not automatically approved for cable cars or BMUs. Check that your IQP holds current approval for each system on your schedule.

Record retention matters. Building owners must retain copies of all IQP reports and Form 12A certificates. These are not just for the council — they are part of the building's asset record and will be required in any due diligence or sale process.

DEG Survey & Inspection is an approved IQP across the South Island and Auckland for lifts, escalators, moving walks, cable cars, and Building Maintenance Units under NZS 5270 and the Building Act 2004.

Reference links:
MBIE — Specified systems and compliance schedules:
https://www.building.govt.nz/building-code-compliance/b-stability/b1-structure/specified-systems-and-compliance-schedules/

Building Act 2004 — Section 100 (IQP obligations):
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2004/0072/latest/whole.html#DLM307895