Water in Tairāwhiti
Under Local Water Done Well the council picked an in-house business unit, so no handover is planned for Gisborne.
Its website couldn't be read when we checked, so we have no pipe-ownership rules to quote. Before a plumber or drainlayer works near your boundary, ask Gisborne District Council where its pipe ends and yours begins.
Ask for Licensed
PGDB runs a consumer campaign called Ask for Licensed. Its message is blunt: don't just take their word for it. Always check your plumber, gasfitter or drainlayer is licensed.
Some people advertise this work without being licensed or authorised. If unlicensed work goes wrong, PGDB warns that your insurance may be void. The campaign's phone line is 0800 743 262.
Before anyone starts work
- Get the person's name and look it up on the PGDB public register.
- Check the licence covers the trade. A plumbing licence isn't a gasfitting licence.
- Ask for a written quote. A quote is an offer at a set price; an estimate is only a best guess.
- If they charge to prepare a quote, they must tell you before they do it.
- Ask what documents you'll receive when the work is finished.
When consent and certificates apply
Gasfitting counts as energy work, which generally needs no building consent. It does need a Gas Safety Certificate once it's connected. If the gasfitter isn't satisfied the installation is safe, they must disconnect it from the supply immediately.
For hot water cylinders, the Schedule 1 Part 2 consent exemptions only count when an authorised person does the job. Someone relying on the householder or supervision exemptions doesn't qualify. The water heater rules are set out in our cylinder consent guide.
Small jobs you can do at home
You can
- Install a dishwasher or washing machine.
- Replace or repair taps, ball cocks and plugs.
Leave to an authorised tradie
- Fixing or unfixing any pipe, fixture or appliance, including traps, waste pipes and water supply pipes.
What we would do in Gisborne
Start with the council for anything at the boundary, because we can't tell you where its pipe stops. For everything else, ask for the tradie's full name on the first phone call and check it on the register before they arrive. It takes a couple of minutes, and it's the check PGDB itself asks homeowners to make.
Tell us what's happening at your place. A Gisborne tradie who specialises in that kind of job can take it, and only that tradie gets your contact details.