When TV3 programme Campbell Live ran a story in February claiming that Dunedin was the most expensive city in the country for building consent fees, its producers were deluged with calls from Tauranga builders.

Mayor Stuart Crosby and Campbell Live reporter Lachlan Forsyth face up on consent fees.

Tauranga is worse by miles, Jennian Homes director Mike Warren told the programme's staff.

'Dunedin is not even in the same league,” says Mike.

'They didn't do their homework very well – they did say on the night we will have to look into this.”

That was the week before February 22, the second Christchurch earthquake, which saw the whole show moved to Christchurch for a while.

Campbell Live is back, and reporter Lachlan Forsyth was today interviewing Mayor Stuart Crosby about the city's building consents issues.

The story is expected to air later this week, perhaps Thursday, says Lachlan.

In February, Dunedin starred because it has consent fees of about $7000.

Mike Warren says Tauranga's consent fees are between about $18,000 and $19,000.

Jennian Homes deals with four other councils; Rotorua, where consent fees are about $3000-3500, Matamata which is very similar to or even slightly lower than Rotorua at $2800-3300 and Western Bay of Plenty District Council's are about $3500 on average.

'Piako, they are round about the same about $3000-3500,” says Mike.

'Then you come back to right in the middle of the hub of the whole lot of them and we have Tauranga at $18,000. We are a totally different league.”

On an $180,000 home, about 10 percent of the price is in permit fees, says Mike.

Tax invoice for building consent lists many fees; impact fees for waste water, water supplies, impact fees for buildings, impact fees for reserves, impact fees for roading, says Mike.

'You name it, they have got impact fees everywhere,” says Mike.

'Most of them have the same of that kind of stuff on there, but just not to the extent that Tauranga has.

'You don't mind paying for a water supply and an impact fee for waste water and all that type of stuff. Fair enough, but it should be only a $100 and not $3854.”