The Building Consent Process

PIMS
Applying for a building consent
Inspections
Final sign-off - CCC
Ongoing maintenance requirements
Certificate of acceptance

PIMs

You may choose to ask Council for a Project Information Memorandum (PIM) - a report about a building proposal on a specific site.

PIMs are useful for clarifying, at an early stage, what will be involved in a project. They will tell you how your project will be affected by legislation other than the Building Act; ie, if you will need a resource consent or if your project is affected by any Council bylaws. They will also tell you about any special features of the land, such as erosion or the presence of any hazardous materials; the details of any stormwater or wastewater systems relating to or near the site, and whether you will need to pay a development contribution.

If you choose not to apply for a PIM separately, your application will be treated as an application for both a PIM and a building consent.

To get a PIM, you or your representative need to apply to Council. You will need the address and legal description of the property and details about the kind of building you are proposing.

A PIM will be issued within 20 working days and Council charges a fee for this service.

Applying for a building consent

No physical work can begin on your project until you have a building consent (and all other required authorisations, such as a resource consent).

Council will issue a building consent if your detailed plans show the finished building will comply with the Building Code. The consent gives you approval to carry out building work, in accordance with the plans and specifications you submitted in your consent application.

If you build without a building consent, you may be liable for a fine and may have difficulty selling the building in the future or even getting insurance for it.

A building consent lapses if the building work does not start within 12 months, unless you make arrangements with Council for an extension. If the consent has lapsed and you want to start work, you have to re-apply for a building consent.

From the date the consent is granted, you have two years to complete your building work, unless you agree otherwise with Council. At the end of the two years (or the agreed period), Council must decide whether to grant a code compliance certificate or issue a notice to fix detailing what further work is necessary.

NB: Your building consent authorises you to build what is detailed in your plans. If you make significant changes to the plans - including changing the materials used - you will have to apply to Council for a staged consent to enable it to assess the proposed changes for compliance with the Building Code. Very minor changes can be dealt with as an amendment, in consultation with your Building Control Officer. Failure to do so will delay your project at inspection time and could mean you can't get a code compliance certificate. Because amending a consent involves time and money, it is worth making sure you get the design and all the details right before you apply for a consent.

You, or a representative such as your builder or architect, apply for a building consent by filling in an application form and supplying the necessary plans, specifications and other supporting information.

The application form lists each section of the Building Code and asks you to show how your project meets the relevant requirements.  The building consent authority will also ask you for construction drawings, specifications and other necessary information to support your application.

The amount of information required will depend on the complexity of your building project.  As a minimum, you are likely to need to include a recent certificate of title and detailed plans showing the site, the foundations, drainage and bracing.

Fees for issuing a building consent vary, and there will be some government levies included.  The Building Act specifies that applications be processed within 20 working days.

The process for amending a building consent is the same as for the initial application. 

Inspections

Once you begin building, an official from your BCA will inspect your project regularly to ensure the work meets the appropriate standards.

The inspection requirements for your project will normally be specified in your building consent, but typically they will cover the foundations, framing and insulation, plumbing, drainage, cladding and flashings, and the finished building.

Without regular inspections there may not be enough information on record to issue a code compliance certificate at the end of the project, for assurance that the work has been done to the appropriate standard.  By the time you finish the project it is likely to be too late.  For example, the framing can no longer be checked without removing all the interior linings.

Builders and installers usually arrange inspections relevant to their work, but property owners are ultimately responsible.  Usually at least one day's notice is required to arrange an inspection.  You should check that your builder or installer is doing this.

If any of your building or plumbing work is not approved, you will be issued a notice to fix detailing what must be done and by when.

Generally, gas and electrical work is not inspected.  Any work must be done by a licensed professional and, on completion, they will give you a signed energy work certificate.  You will need the energy work certificates to get a code compliance certificate.

Final sign-off - Code Compliance Certificate

A code compliance certificate (CCC) is issued after the final inspection of the finished building project. A CCC confirms that Council is satisfied the completed project meets the appropriate standards.

CCCs are important.  When you sell your property, having a CCC shows the buyer that the building or renovations were done properly.  If you build a house or unit for the purpose of selling it immediately (ie, act as a residential property developer) the Building Act prohibits you from selling the property without a CCC.

A CCC will be issued after the final inspection, if the building has been built in accordance with the approved plans.  That's why it is important that, if you think you're going to change your plans in any way during the project, you advise your BCA and amend your building consent first.  If your property does not pass the CCC inspection, the BCA will issue a notice to fix, specifying what must be done and by when.

In addition to having completed the building work correctly, to get a CCC you will need to supply all the relevant energy work certificates and ensure that fees and development contributions have been paid.

CCC applications are compulsory and the responsibility of the homeowner.  Where building owners have not submitted an application for a CCC within two years from the date the building consent was issued, the BCA will follow this up with the owner (unless you have agreed an extension with your BCA, which you would normally do at the time of your building consent application). 

In the first instance, you should apply to the BCA that issued the building consent.  The Act says the application must be considered within 20 working days.

Ongoing maintenance requirements

For most domestic building projects, the CCC is the end of the inspection process. However, for some commercial or industrial buildings with life safety or other features, there may be regular ongoing monitoring of the correct functioning of those features.

If this applies to you, Council will issue you a compliance schedule with your CCC. The schedule will specify how often the features need to be inspected, by whom, and your obligation to inform Council.

Council can issue a notice to fix for failing to obey a compliance schedule.

Certificate of acceptance

Council may decide, on application, to issue certificates of acceptance when work has been done without a building consent, or in certain specific circumstances when a CCC can't be issued.

This could be because urgent work was needed to protect lives or property and there was no time to get a consent, or the private Building Control Authority (an authority that is not a council) that issued the consent is unable or refuses to issue a CCC.

A certificate of acceptance confirms the work complies with the Building Code to the extent an inspection was able to be carried out.

Certificate of acceptance applications for unconsented building work can only be made if the work was done after 1 July 1992 (the date building consents were introduced). The worth of a certificate of acceptance to the homeowner and to a potential buyer will ultimately depend on the extent to which the work can be inspected.

In many circumstances, a complete inspection of the work will not be possible and the certificate may be declined or issued specifying only the elements of the building work that can be approved.

It remains a serious offence to build without a building consent and this can result in court action.

Applications for a certificate of acceptance should be processed in 20 working days, but if more information is needed, the processing time can be stopped.