Dunedin builders are frustrated by delays in the Dunedin City Council's building consent processes which have caused some consents to blow out by more than twice the legal expectation.
Consents are meant to be processed within 20 working days of acceptance.
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At present, the average consent is taking 24.5 days. More than a quarter are over the statutory limit and one consent is out to 52 days.
The delays have caused issues for large and small building firms.
Companies are juggling planning around blown-out deadlines and there were reports of some small companies having to down tools and take leave to cope.
The council says the issue is abating and in the past month the percentage of consents issued over the statutory time limit has dropped from more than 50% and the average timeframe has fallen from 27 days.
But many within the industry believe the problem is as bad now as it has ever been.
Registered Master Builders Otago president Steve Jory said the issue was being exacerbated by difficulty in getting inspectors on site and it had caused a loss in productivity for many companies.
"The amount of time it [takes to get a consent] at the moment is as bad as it's ever been,'' he said.
"It doesn't seem to matter if it's a big job or a small job. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason.''
The issue was also causing stress for builders dealing with unhappy clients.
"People come along and say: ‘We'll sign up today. How long until you think you can get us in?' and you say: ‘It's a six-month build' and then it's out seven months because you have already lost a month in the consent process.''
He had received assurances from the council it was working to resolve the issue, but "they have been reassuring us forever and a day''.
Council building services manager Neil McLeod said the council was taking steps to resolve the problem and sympathised with builders frustrated by the drawn-out process.
"We recognise the frustration out there and are moving as quickly as we can to deal with that issue,'' he said.
"We are recruiting additional staff. We are sending applications outside the city. We are working overtime and we would hope to be back under the 20 working days within weeks.''
About 26% of applications with the council at present were over the 20-day statutory limit and the average consent was taking 24.5 working days.
But that was a big improvement from a month ago when more than 50% of applications were over the limit and the average consent was taking 27 days, he said.
The department was adding two additional staff at present and recruiting two others to fill vacancies caused by staff moving on.
The issue was frustrating group housing companies such as Stonewood Homes and Jennian Homes.
Stonewood Homes Dunedin manager Graham Sneddon said processing "times would be as bad as they have ever been''.
"We had one with no requests for information (RFI) that took 37 days,'' he said.
"It's getting frustrating for all builders. Everyone is talking about it.''
The Otago Daily Times understands many within the industry believe the council is using requests for information to extend their deadlines.
Sometimes referred to as "stopping the clock'', the application is suspended when the council requests further information and the suspension period does not count as part of the 20 days.
"They are taking the 20 days and then requesting an RFI when the information is already available to them,'' Mr Sneddon said.
The difficulty in getting an inspector on site was only adding to the frustration, he said, and "we are having jobs sitting waiting for them''.
Being a larger company, he was able to move staff on to other projects while waiting for consents to be processed and no workers were taking leave as a result, but the company's credibility was taking a hit.
However, one Dunedin builder has had to pay for staff to take holidays and offer them jobs around his own home.
"I have got one consent that's now at 47 days and I had a conversation [with the Dunedin City Council] and they said: ‘It's in a pile and it's 12 more away now', but they couldn't say when it's going to be done.''
He had to scramble to secure work for his three staff and two staff had already had to take two days off while waiting for the consent.
He had paid their wages for that time and had not forced them to use up their holiday pay.
He had small building jobs at his own home which he would normally do on the weekends, but because of the work shortage, he paid his staff to do the work, he said.
Jennian Homes Otago director Hayden Davies said managing customers' expectations came part and parcel with the ongoing consent issues.
"Trying to underpromise and overdeliver is one of those key things to do,'' he said.
"But it's even harder to do when you don't have any line of sight into when you are going to receive documentation.''
Working in multiple territorial authorities had given him an insight into how the process was managed in Dunedin and the results were lacklustre.
"They are definitely not being managed as efficiently as they could be,'' he said.
The council had "some great staff'' working in the department and it was disappointing their efforts were stymied by the process, he said.
Last month, the council issued 193 building consents, a 38.8% increase on the 139 issued in February 2015 and 2014.
However, in January only 102 were issued, down on 122 in January 2015 and 123 in January 2014.
