Check if you need consents

All building work done in Aotearoa New Zealand must comply with the Building Code, and a building consent is often needed. Building work that is considered 'low-risk' is exempt from needing a consent in certain circumstances under the Building Act.

Commercial and multi-unit building work will also need careful planning and may have additional requirements.

Your council can tell you about any district or regional plans that may require you to get resource consent or other permits.

Work requiring consent

The following list is a summary of building work that will need a consent, but you should always check with your local council to confirm.

• structural building - including additions, alterations, re-piling and some demolitions
• plumbing and drainage where an additional sanitary fixture is created (some repair and maintenance may be exempt)
• relocating a building
• installing a woodburner or air-conditioning system
• retaining walls higher than 1.5 metres (3.0 metres in rural area if designed by a chartered professional engineer)
• fences or walls higher than 2.5 metres, and all swimming pools and their associated fences
• decks, platforms or bridges more than 1.5 metres above ground level
• sheds greater than 30 square metres in floor area (sheds between 10 and 30 square metres will still need the help of an LBP or engineer or must use lightweight material in accordance with Acceptable Solution (B1/AS1)
• some earthworks.

Information on how to apply for a building consent.

Failing to have a consent

You are breaking the law if you carry out building work that is not exempt and do not have a building consent.

You may be fined up to $200,000 and, if work continues, a further fine of up to $10,000 for every day or part-day during which the offence continues.

Your council can also:

• issue you a 'notice to fix' for carrying out building work without consent
• give instant fines of up to $1000, and
• restrict entry or attach warning notices to not approach the building if it is dangerous or insanitary.

Building work that doesn't need a consent

Schedule 1 exemptions

Schedule 1 of the Building Act exempts low-risk work from needing a building consent.

You can use our online tool to check whether your project needs a building consent:

Can I Build it? – canibuildit.govt.nz

Building consent exemption guide

You can also check exempt building work guidance for:

• a list of all building work that does not need building consent
• a description of the exempt building work
• examples of what is exempt and what needs a building consent by project type, and
• when professionals should be hired to do your exempt building work. 

Guidance on building work that doesn't need a building consent

Small standalone dwellings built using the granny flats exemption

A building consent exemption allows for granny flats up to 70 square metres in size, to be built without a building consent if certain conditions are met, these include:

• it is stand-alone
• it is new (that is, it is wholly new and not an addition or alteration to existing building work or an existing building)
• it has a floor area that is equal to or less than 70 square metres
• it is single storey only.

The granny flats exemption guidance has more information about the building design conditions.

Carrying out exempt work 

Some exempt building work can be carried out by anyone, while others need the help of a plumber or drainlayer, Licenced Building Practitioner or Chartered Professional Engineer. As a building owner, you are responsible for:

• deciding whether or not your building work is exempt
• making sure that any exempt building work complies with the Building Code.

You may need to contract a building practitioner for some types of work – even if you don't need a consent.

You can still choose to apply for a building consent, even if building work is exempt. Your local council must process your application.

On completion of any exempt building work, any altered building must comply with the Building Code to at least the same extent as it did before the building work was undertaken.

Seek expertise

If you are not sure if your proposed work is exempt, you should get advice from someone with the appropriate building knowledge and expertise.

You should also seek advice if you are considering building work that is close to load-bearing walls.

People who can give you advice include:

• Building consent authority (typically a district or city council), as they have extensive building control expertise and planning expertise and information about exemptions and building consent processes (they may charge a fee for this)

• Registered Architect

• Chartered Professional Engineer

• Registered building surveyor

• Building consultant

• Registered electrical worker

• Licensed Building Practitioner – check they hold the relevant licensing class before seeking advice

• Registered certifying plumber or drainlayer

• Independent qualified person (IQP)

You may need to pay a building consent authority (BCA) or other adviser for their advice.

Choosing a Licensed Building Practitioner 

Involving your council

If the scope of your building work is marginally beyond the scope of a particular exemption, you can apply to your local council for a discretionary exemption.

This means your council can use its discretion in deciding whether your project needs a building consent. You should talk to your council before you make the application to see if it is a possibility.

Find out more about discretionary exemptions.

Urgent work

If you are a building owner, you must apply to your council for a certificate of acceptance if you do not obtain a building consent because building work has to be carried out urgently.

Exemptions are not retrospective. If you carry out unconsented building work which was not covered by an exemption in the legislation in force at the time, you need to apply to your council for a certificate of acceptance.

How to apply for a certificate of acceptance.

Provide details of your exempt building work to your council

When you complete any exempt building work on your property, you can consider notifying your council and providing it with any relevant documents. This includes:

• drawings
• specifications
• photographs.

When you complete a granny flat as non-consented small standalone dwelling, you must collect and submit a range of records and certificates that confirm the work was carried out by appropriately licensed professionals and complies with the Building Code.

These include:

• final design plans
• Records of Work (RoW) from LBPs who carried out or supervised restricted building work
• Certificates of Work (CoW) from designers for any restricted design work
• energy work certificates, including: 
  • electrical safety certificates
  • gas safety certificates (if applicable).

This could avoid possible issues when on-selling your property and enables your council to update your property file. You might avoid any confusion when potential purchasers check council’s records and discover that the records do not align with what is seen on site. (Note that councils may charge for providing this service).