Building consent

All building work must be carried out in accordance with the Building Act and council's District Plan. 

You can talk to our duty planner, or your own planning adviser, about your building project to make sure it will met the requirements of the District Plan.  It's best to do this before you apply for a building consent, to avoid any expensive changes to plans.

You need a building consent for building work as defined in the Building Act 2004 this includes:

• Structural building - includes new buildings, additions, alterations, accessory buildings (sheds) and repiling
• Additions or Alterations - also see minor building consent work 
• Plumbing work
• Drainage work
• Heating (solid fuel fireplace), ventilation and air conditioning systems necessary for the functioning of the building
• Alterations to specified systems (commercial buildings)
• Lifts
• Siteworks associated with the building
• Demolition of existing structures
• Relocation of secondhand buildings
• Retaining walls higher than 1.5m
• Retaining walls less than 1.5m that provide support for buildings, driveways or sloping ground
• Swimming pools and large tanks
• Decks that are covered
• Decks that are more than one metre from ground level
• Any building no matter how small, that is to be used for sleeping or living purposes
• Dams

The following building work also requires a building consent.   

Minor building work  

Work must be under the value of $19,000 and be one of the following:

• House repiling- repiling an existing dwelling
• Shower over existing bath - where the bath is staying in its original position and no waste pipes are changing position.
• Replacing windows for doors - where the lintel size is staying the same as the original window lintel.
• Minor internal alterations - taking out a load bearing wall and replacing it with a beam.  No work under this title shall include plumbing.
• Pergola to existing deck - a rafter pergola either covered with roofing or not.
• Minor plumbing & drainage work :
  • Stormwater to kerb
  • Remodelled kitchen
  • any work on a hot water cylinder
  • replacing vanity unit or bath
  • wet area shower for disabled within an existing bathroom
  • replacing existing sewer (clay to PVC - fee reduced to $120)
• Septic tank repair or replacement - a septic tank assessment will be required with the application.
• Repitching of an existing roof - increase the pitch of an existing roof using factory manufactured trusses but not including attic type trusses and not increasing the plan area of the roof.
• Enclosing an existing porch- for sunroom or extra living space only, not to be used for sleeping purposes.  No plumbing work involved.
• Proprietary conservatories - factory manufactured conservatories that carry their own producer statement.
• Residential fences- which requires a consent, higher than 2.0 metres.
• Stand alone carport - a carport that has 3 or more open sides.

Any other minor work may only be accepted under a minor building consent at the discretion of the construction controller or the manager of environment and planning.