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Building consentsIntroduction | When is a building consent required? | Applying for a building consent | Lodge your application | Changes to Building Code Clause H1 (Energy efficiency) | Building consent process | Timeframes | Re-cladding work | Appointment booking | Does building work have the required consents? | Street damage deposits | Producer statements | Building inspections Building consent process
Building consents and licensing servicesAuckland City Environments (ACE) is a business unit within Auckland City Council. We carry out the council's statutory responsibilities under the Building Act 2004. Our staff are trained professionals with backgrounds covering a range of building disciplines including architecture, engineering, plumbing, and construction. Using the information that you provide in your application, our staff will assess it for compliance with the Building Code, then issue you with a building consent, or advise you of any additional information needed in order to approve the application. We are committed to providing top-quality customer service and aim to help you obtain your consent as fast as possible, while also ensuring that your building project meets all legislative and building code requirements. What is a building consent application?Most types of building work require a building consent to ensure compliance with the Building Act 2004 and with the New Zealand Building Code. The purpose of these legislative requirements is to ensure that New Zealand buildings are sound and meet acceptable standards with regard to safety, the needs of building users and environmental sustainability. When considering a building consent application we must consider aspects of the property that could have some effect on the way work is carried out. This information is contained in a project information memorandum (PIM). A PIM details any information the council is aware of that may affect your proposed project. You can choose to apply for a PIM before lodging a building consent application. A PIM will be issued with your building consent if one was not previously issued. We strongly recommend that you obtain your PIM early and use it as input into your detailed design. The building consent must be obtained before the work starts. Only work listed under schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004 may start without first obtaining a building consent. However, the work must still comply with the Building Code. Examples of work that do not require a building consent are:
If in any doubt, please contact us so we can advise you. The building consent process
Enquiring about making an applicationThis website has information about applying for building consents and other approvals. From the building and developing page, you can access application forms, check-sheets and guidelines that list the plans and documentation that need to be supplied with your application. You can also find useful information about applying for a building consent and download publications from the Department of Building and Housing (DBH). The department has a number of useful publications for homeowners including 'Guide to applying for a building consent (simple residential buildings)' and 'The Building Act and You.' The ConsumerBuild website also has lots of helpful information - especially for homeowners or people who are new to the building industry. If you are not familiar with building plans and establishing compliance with the Building Code you may need to engage a design professional (for example an architect) to supply the required drawings and information, and to apply for a building consent on your behalf. For complex projects we recommend that you seek professional advice. Checking your applicationOnce you have completed the application form, you or your designer will need to check that you are providing all the required documentation and information. The check list attached to the application explains the documentation and information that must be submitted for your project. The left-hand column of the check list should be used to indicate documentation that is being supplied. The completed check list must be included with your application. Pre-lodgementA pre-lodgement meeting is required for applications that relate to development works that have any one of the following characteristics:
Lodging the applicationOnce you have completed the application form and checked that you have provided all the information required, you may lodge your application by one of the following methods:
Your application will be checked by an officer before being accepted to ensure all the required information is supplied. Applications will not be accepted if any of the information is missing. Postal applications will be returned by mail if not accepted. This initial check is with regard to content of the application only. A more detailed check of the information supplied is done during processing. Fees will be assessed when you lodge the consent and will include payment for the estimated number of inspections required for your project. If the value of your application is over $20,000, your fees will include levies which we are required to collect on behalf of the Department of Building and Housing and the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ). Entering the application in our systemOnce we receive your application, it will be given a unique service request (BLD) number and be entered into our processing system. You should quote this number whenever you write to or contact the council about your building consent application. Your application will be linked to the records for the property address. It takes up to 20 working days to process an application. The "clock" starts when the consent is received and entered into our computer system. Processing the application for compliance with the Building Act, Building Code, district plan and any other regulationsOur professional officers will evaluate the various aspects of your building consent application to ensure it meets the requirements of the Building Act and the Building Code. Your application will be assessed by a number of officers with specific skills and knowledge. These will include building, plumbing and drainage, structural, resource management and others. There is a requirement for some applications (generally commercial projects) to be sent to the Design Review Unit of the NZ Fire Services Commission (DRU). There will be additional fees to pay if your application needs to be sent to the DRU. If we find your application does not contain all the necessary or correct details to allow us to make a proper evaluation of the proposed work, an officer will contact you and your application will be temporarily suspended. The "clock" stops when the information is requested and restarts when the information is all received. The Building Act requires us to process your application within 20 working days from the time your application is accepted. However, if your application is suspended because of a lack of supporting information, the period of suspension is not counted as part of the 20 days. Therefore, it is important that you fully and accurately complete the application form and attach all information at the outset to avoid the possibility of delays during the process. In some instances you may not be able to supply sufficient information to show that your proposed building work will meet the requirements of the Building Act and the Building Code. If so, you may have to amend your proposal or the council may be unable to issue your building consent. Checking resource consent requirements and other permissionsThe work for which you are seeking consent is checked for other required permissions, for example the Resource Management Act or district plan requirements. A land use consent is required where all or part of the proposed building activity does not fully comply with the relevant rules in the district plan. A subdivision consent is required to legally divide land or buildings for separate ownership, such as new lots or sections. In either of these cases, if you have not already applied for and been granted a resource consent, we will advise that you need to do so. Resource consent must be approved before the building work can start. The district plan rules are available on this website or from any Auckland City Council service centre. We also check for compliance with the council's bylaws and other legislation such as vehicle access, earthworks, water reticulation, public drainage and (in the case of commercial premises) areas such as health, trade waste, building warrant of fitness and backflow prevention. Additional feesOccasionally, as we work on your application and seek further information, we may find that there are additional areas to investigate (for example the need for an earthworks assessment, a compliance schedule or an assessment by an environmental health officer) necessitating additional fees. If this is the case, we will invoice you for payment before the building consent is issued. This may include additional charges incurred if the consent was sent to the Design Review Unit. Reasons for delays to your applicationThere are a number of possible causes for delays to your application:
We can't guarantee that there will be no delays, but the chance of this occurring is significantly lessened if you thoroughly check your application before it is submitted. If there are any areas you are unsure about, we recommend you seek input from a professional. Approving the applicationOnce your application has been assessed as conforming to all the required criteria, and all necessary fees paid, it will be granted and a building consent and/or project information memorandum issued. What happens then?Once your building consent is issued and you have obtained any other approvals required, such as resource consent, then you may commence work on your building project. Please notify us when you are ready to start work. It is very important that you (and your contractors) read the building consent documentation to ensure you are clear about the requirements. It will contain a list of inspections required to be undertaken by council officers during the building process, and a list of producer statements (if applicable) required from specialists (typically engineering disciplines). The identified specialists will be required to provide documentation of the inspections they undertake in support of their producer statement. Work must start on your project within 12 months after the date the consent was issued. If we have not been called for inspections before then, we will send you a letter reminding you that work must be started and asking if you intend to proceed with the work. You may decide that you will not do the work, in which case the consent will lapse, or you may apply for an extension of time to start the work. An extension of time to start work may be granted in some circumstances after an officer has reviewed the building consent file. If we do not hear from you within the stated time, or an extension of time to start is refused, the consent will lapse, meaning a new consent would have to be applied for and issued before any work could be carried out. Inspections
Re-inspections may be required if the officer is not satisfied that the work meets the requirements of the building consent and the Building Code. These may incur additional charges if inspections exceed those estimated when you lodged your building consent application. In addition to the inspections by council officers, inspections may be required by specialists, including structural, geotechnical and fire engineers. You will need to liaise directly with your specialist about the inspections he/she will need to make. Your specialist may not be able to give you the required producer statement if you have failed to arrange for inspections at the appropriate times. If inspections have been missed, contact us to discuss possible alternative evidence you can provide that the work is code compliant. A subsequent inspection may not be undertaken until it has been verified that the work already in place complies with the building consent. The work must be carried out in accordance with your approved building consent. If you wish to change some aspect of the project you must obtain an amendment to the building consents before the work is carried out. The process for obtaining an amendment is the same as obtaining the original consent. It is very important that at the time of the inspection the building consent documents accurately reflect what has actually been built. If the work has not been done in accordance with the building consent the inspector may issue a notice to fix or a site instruction notice stating what is required to be done. Types of inspectionsThe following are the types of inspections that may be required depending on the nature and complexity of building work. Building inspections
Plumbing inspections
Re-clad (specific)
Sign offWhen the work is completed you will need to formally apply for a code compliance certificate (CCC) on the form enclosed with your building consent. This certificate means that the building work complies with the building code and with the building consent. You may also need to arrange a time for a final inspection if one has not already been carried out. When you apply for your certificate you will need to give names and contact details for all the people involved in your project, eg builders, plumbers, engineers etc. You may also be required to supply supporting documentation such as energy work certificates or a PS4 (engineers' producer statement - construction review) before a CCC can be issued. Your building consent lists the documentation required. Additional documentation may also be requested during inspections. We may not be able to issue the CCC if any of the required inspections have been missed or the required producer statement cannot be provided. Without this certificate you may experience difficulties in insuring your property or selling it in the future. A review of fees paid for inspections will be made when the CCC has been approved for issue. Additional inspection fees will be charged if the inspection fee paid when the application was lodged is not enough to cover the inspection time actually used. The CCC will not be issued if there are any unpaid fees. If an application for the certificate has not been received within two years of the building consent being granted, the council may decide not to issue it. If you apply for an extension of time to complete your building project an officer may grant an extension after reviewing the file, if satisfied that the plans will still be compliant with the current code and district plan rules at that time. In some circumstances we may refuse to issue a code compliance certificate, for example: if an extension of time to complete is not granted; if the work is not complete or does not comply; or if you fail to supply the required documentation. A compliance schedule will be issued with the CCC where the building has specified systems, such as fire alarms and sprinklers, that have been added, removed or altered (including residential multi-unit developments that are serviced by an elevator). Where the compliance schedule is new, a compliance schedule statement will also be issued. You must display this statement in the building. The Building Act requires us to process your application for a code compliance certificate within 20 working days. The "clock" starts when we receive your application. As with building consent applications, the "clock" will stop if your application is suspended awaiting additional inspections, documentation or fees and will restart when the issue has been resolved. Special requirementsRe-clads We recognise that building works to re-clad existing buildings have inherent challenges for both the applicant and your council. Thus, we have developed a process for such consent applications to ensure the works address any existing leaky problems and the works remediate any structural damage. Our brochure 'Building consents for re-cladding' details our process. We strongly recommend you read this document prior to lodging your consent. Contact us to request a copy. Multi-unit developments It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all notifiable inspections are undertaken for all relevant areas of the works. This is especially important for multi-unit developments, which by their nature require frequent inspections. Failure to have passed appropriate inspection may compromise later applications for code compliance certificate. Other information and applicationsDownload a copy of this brochure in PDF format
(1,598k PDF) DeterminationsIf you are not happy with or disagree with a decision we make, either during the processing or inspecting of your building work, you can request a determination from the Department of Building and Housing. Certificates of acceptanceA certificate of acceptance is a new tool in the Building Act 2004. It will provide some verification for a building owner or future building owners that part or all of certain building work carried out complies with the Building Code. A certificate of acceptance can be issued where:
A certificate of acceptance can only be issued if the work complies with the Building Code at the time the application was made. (This differs from a code compliance certificate which is issued if the work complies with the Building Code at the time the building consent was issued.) When a certificate of acceptance is issued it will list the work the council inspected and may also list items that the council could not verify as complying with the Building Code. These are called exclusions. Your application will need to provide evidence of how the work complies with the Building Code, including those parts of the work that the council cannot inspect. Certificates for public useA certificate for public use is a new provision under the Building Act 2004. It is used to certify that premises or parts of premises affected by building work are safe to be used by members of the public. A certificate for public use can only be issued where a consent has been granted for building work but no code compliance certificate has been issued yet. Certificates for public use do not relieve the owner of a building from the obligation to apply for a code compliance certificate after all the building work has been carried out. Certificates for public use are not required for private homes. Additional sources of informationFurther information can be obtained from the following websites:
Updated July 2008 |
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At
various stages during construction, you will need to arrange for building officers to inspect what work has been done in order to
ensure that your building work complies with the conditions of the building consent. The inspection requirements will be listed in your
building consent. You can book your inspection anytime by calling (09) 353 9120.You should forward plan your building work and book well
in advance to ensure that you can get an inspection when you need it to avoid delays on site. Inspections cannot be guaranteed for
last minute bookings. You will be given a morning or afternoon appointment. You will need to supply the following information when
booking an inspection:
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