1.1 General repair, maintenance, and replacement

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What the law says

Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004

Exemption 1. General repair, maintenance, and replacement

1. The repair and maintenance of any component or assembly incorporated in or associated with a building, provided that comparable materials are used.

2. Replacement of any component or assembly incorporated in or associated with a building, provided that:

(a). a comparable component or assembly is used; and

(b). the replacement is in the same position.

3. However, subclauses (1) and (2) do not include the following building work:

(a). complete or substantial replacement of a specified system; or

(b). complete or substantial replacement of any component or assembly contributing to the building's structural behaviour or fire-safety properties; or

(c). repair or replacement (other than maintenance) of any component or assembly that has failed to satisfy the provisions of the Building Code for durability, for example, through a failure to comply with the external moisture requirements of the Building Code; or

(d). sanitary plumbing or drainlaying under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006.

How it works

MBIE has also issued relevant determinations under the Building Act 2004 that include discussion about what is considered complete or substantial replacement, and what is meant by comparable materials, components or assemblies.

For further information read:

Determination 2013/071

Determination 2015/072

If you are not sure if this exemption applies to your proposed building work, you should either seek a discretionary exemption from the council or apply for a building consent rather than risk applying it incorrectly.

Check with your local territorial and regional authority for a discretionary exemption.

What is exempt

1. An owner replaces 20-year-old profile metal roof cladding, where that cladding has achieved its Building Code durability requirement (lasted more than 15 years) and the replacement cladding is a comparable component or assembly, such as profiled metal roofing.
2. The owner replaces old, rotten wooden piles under a house with new treated timber piles in the same positions, as long as the work is not a complete or substantial replacement.
3. The owner replaces and repaints damaged solid plaster exterior wall cladding where the damage was not due to a durability failure (such as damage caused by a motor vehicle backing into the wall).
4. The owner maintains a weatherproofing membrane such as a fibreglass and painted surface system on an existing deck that forms the roof over a habitable room by applying a new coat of fibreglass and paint in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. The owner replaces a damaged inner stainless-steel flue for an existing solid fuel heater (such as a wood burner) in the same position. As the undamaged outer flue liner is remaining and will continue to protect the building against the possible spread of fire, the scope of work is not considered to be complete or substantial replacement of a component that contributes to the building’s fire safety.
6. The owner replaces, in the same position, any number of doors and windows (including joinery and glazing) that are not fire rated with new aluminium doors and windows. 
7. The owner carries out repairs or replacement work on the brick chimney of a functioning open fireplace following an earthquake. The repair involves using comparable materials and the scope of work is not considered to be complete or substantial replacement of any components that contribute to the building’s structural behaviour or fire safety.
8. The owner repairs or replaces masonry veneer wall cladding (such as brick or stone) which has been damaged.
9. Simple plumbing repairs, such as replacing tap washers or ballcock valves. (Note: repairs, maintenance and replacement to sanitary plumbing and drainage must still be carried by an authorised person).
10. The owner installs, moves or replaces smoke alarms that are not part of a specified fire alarm system in a detached dwelling.
11. The owner replaces a sprinkler head, fire pump, fire pump controller or fire pump driver with a comparable part that does not alter the performance of the sprinkler system, or relocates or adds a relatively small number of sprinkler heads within an area of a building that is already sprinkler protected.
12. The owner rectifies minor deficiencies to a fire alarm or sprinkler system identified during an annual inspection by an Independent Qualified Person. Minor deficiencies are not considered substantial replacement of a specified system.
13. The owner adds or relocates a relatively small proportion of fire alarm detectors and manual call points to allow for changes in the interior fit-out (such as furniture placings) or HVAC systems of a building.
14. The owner replaces an old clay tile roof with a profiled metal roof (such as longrun roofing or pressed metal tiles) in the same position.

Note: Since the scope of work involves replacing a heavy weight roof with light weight roof, issues such as how to deal with potentially higher uplift forces must be considered. The owner could elect to use NZS 3604:2011 to show compliance with the Building Code. As the scope of work is not considered to be complete or substantial replacement of a component or assembly that contributes to the building’s structural behaviour, the building work falls within the scope of this exemption.

What needs consent

1. The owner replaces exterior wall cladding that has failed within 15 years of the cladding being installed, resulting in damage to the wall framing.
2. The owner rebuilds a house that has been significantly damaged by fire or earthquake. Although the building may have met its durability requirements under the Building Code, the proposed building work would involve complete and substantial replacement of structural components. Therefore, a building consent is required.
3. The owner repairs an exterior wall following vehicle impact damage where the repairs require complete replacement of wall framing and integral bracing elements.
4. The owner adds any number of sprinkler heads to an existing fire sprinkler system to protect a previously unprotected area in a building. This will require a building consent as it may affect the capacity of the sprinkler system.
5. The owner replaces a rigid section of fire sprinkler pipe with a flexible section. This will require a building consent as the parts are not similar.
6. The owner permanently removes part of a fire safety system such as a sprinkler head, detector or manual call point. Removing any of these could adversely affect the system’s operation and is considered a substantial replacement of components.
7. The owner replaces old corrugated iron roofing with new concrete tiles. The new heavier tiles will impose an increased load on the existing structure, which is likely to substantially affect the building’s structural behaviour.
8. The owner repositions a solid-fuel heater (such as a wood burner) by shifting it from one end of a living room to the other.
9. The owner replaces an existing solid-fuel heater with a comparable appliance in the same location. This will require a building consent as the installation will affect the building’s fire safety properties.