The short answer
No law requires a long-term maintenance plan (LTMP) to be prepared by a Licensed Building Practitioner, Registered Building Surveyor or any other specialist. Nor should it. What matters is that the person inspecting your property can do three things well: plan the routine maintenance accurately, recognise the signs of something more serious, and call in the right specialist when they see them.
That is exactly how Plan Heaven works. Our team holds qualifications in building surveying, civil engineering, building science, construction management and property inspection, and when a draft plan uncovers something that needs a closer look, we say so in the plan and budget for it.
What the law actually requires
The Unit Titles Act 2010 does not name any particular qualification for preparing an LTMP.
For developments of 10 or more units, section 157C requires the body corporate to consult the building professionals, or other suitably qualified professionals, it considers necessary or appropriate when it develops or reviews the plan. A body corporate can opt out of this by special resolution. The test is fitness for the job, not a specific licence.
The two qualifications people most often ask about mean different things:
Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP). A licence for people who design or carry out restricted building work, such as builders, roofers and designers. It is about doing building work, not assessing or planning for it.
Registered Building Surveyor. A member of the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors (NZIBS). Registered surveyors are well suited to forensic and weathertightness investigations, which is often where we bring them in.
Neither is a legal requirement for an LTMP. Insisting on one for every plan would add significant cost without necessarily producing a better plan.
Source: Unit Titles Act 2010, s 157C
Think of us as your building's GP
Let's use a medical example.
If you have been feeling run down and want a check-up, you don't book a cardiologist. You see your GP. They look at the whole picture, deal with what they can, and refer you to a specialist when something needs a closer look.
Plan Heaven does the same for your property. We know enough about every part of a development to plan its routine maintenance with confidence: roofs, cladding, paint, joinery, plumbing, lifts, paving and grounds. Just as importantly, we know the warning signs that something more serious may be going on.
That problem might be in the cladding. It could equally be a retaining wall, a ventilation system or the fire services. When we see it, we don't guess. We recommend a specialist investigation right there in the draft LTMP and include a budget for it, so the body corporate can act on it if they choose.
A good LTMP is more than an inspection
The inspection is only one part of the plan. A useful LTMP also needs:
Sound financial modelling. Realistic costs, inflation and a 30-year cash flow forecast that sets sensible levies.
Compliance with the Unit Titles Act. Including the summary of the common property's condition, sources of funding, and the right splits between work paid from the long-term maintenance fund. the operating account and work charged to individual owners.
A plan owners can understand. If owners can't follow it, it won't be used, however much it cost.
These skills come from experience in body corporate governance and finance and our decade of experience building LTMPs, not from a building licence. Our plans bring all of them together.
Our team's qualifications
At Plan Heaven, we have built more than 1000 plans plans since 2016. Between them, our team brings building surveying, civil engineering, construction management, building science, property inspection and finance, which is the mix a good LTMP needs.
|
Team member |
Role |
Qualifications |
|---|---|---|
|
John Bradley |
Founder (2015) |
MBA, Diploma in Building Surveying |
|
Josh Lopell |
Operations Manager |
NZIBS Certificate in Residential Property Inspections; Bachelor of Business (Finance) |
|
Blair Nicholl |
Commercial Director |
Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (BCA); Postgraduate Diploma in Construction and Building Science. |
|
Anne McCormack |
LTMP planner, 300+ plans since 2021 |
Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management; Bachelor of Urban Development (Construction Management) |
|
Duncan Lucas |
LTMP planner, 140+ plans since 2021 |
BSc,Higher National Certificate in Building Studies (UK); Homestar Assessor, NZ Green Building Council |
|
Rodney Millynn |
LTMP planner, 100+ plans since 2022 |
BE (Civil) |
Where a plan calls for a specialist, such as a registered building surveyor, structural engineer or fire engineer, we recommend one and budget for the investigation in the plan.
A meaningful plan, not a box-ticking exercise
The best protection for a body corporate is a plan that is accurate, compliant, understood by owners and actually used. Ask any LTMP provider how they will identify problems beyond routine maintenance and what they do when they find one. Our answer is simple: we flag it, budget for it and point you to the right specialist.
Updated by John Bradley, October 2026.
If you have any feedback or questions please use the feedback form.
The Plan Heaven team.
Disclaimer. Plan Heaven is not qualified in law and any comments made on this website are only the opinion of Plan Heaven and should not be regarded as legal advice. Our comments are merely providing some thoughts on how the legislation might be interpreted and how we go about attempting to meet its requirements. You should not rely on this information in isolation and do you own homework and at all times if you wish to be sure of your position relating to legal matters you should seek advice from a suitably qualified lawyer.