Building Consents

A building consent is a formal approval to undertake building work in accordance with approved plans and specifications. A building consent establishes that your proposed building work complies with the building code. If you need a building consent, you must get it before building work starts.

It is an offence to build without a consent if one is needed. It could result in fines and possibly the removal of the building work. It may also make it difficult for you to sell the building or get insurance.

Building consent is not required in certain cases as specified under section 41 of the Building Act 2004.

A building consent is required for most building work, including:

• New buildings (unless exempt under Schedule 1 of the Building Act)
• Alterations to buildings (unless exempt under Schedule 1 of the Building Act)
• Additions to buildings
• Drainage work and adding plumbing fixtures
• Relocating buildings
• Installing, replacing and relocating solid fuel heating appliances
• Installing and altering specified systems
• Swimming pool fencing and most swimming pools
• Retaining walls (unless exempt under Schedule 1 of the Building Act)
• Change of use of buildings

As part of your application, you must ensure compliance with other legislation relevant to your application and consent process e.g. if a Resource Consent is required under the Resource Management Act Planning - Central Otago District Council or an Alcohol Licence under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act Licensing - Central Otago District Council.

This is a guide to building work which does not require a building consent under the Building Act 2004. It concentrates on the list of exemptions contained in Schedule 1 of the Act.

Exempt building work guidance

Works undertaken without building consent, excluding Building work that doesn't need a building consent | Building Performance, are illegal. They are often costly to set right and may put people‘s safety or property at risk. Illegal building works may also affect your insurance cover and/or house sale negotiations. If you are doing some work and do not know whether you need a building consent the best thing to do is ask. Call one of our Building Inspectors on (03) 440 0056 to find out.

Work cannot start until you have a granted building consent and any other necessary authorisations (such as resource consents). You need to allow at least 20 working days to obtain a building consent when planning your project.

The time-frame is reduced to 10 working days if the building work you are proposing has a National Multi-Use Approval (MultiProof). See the MBIE website for more information on Multi-Use Approvals.

The statutory timeframe for processing applications containing BuiltReady modular components is also reduced to 10 working days (if certain criteria is met). To find out more about the BuiltReady scheme visit the MBIE website.

The Central Otago District Council is responsible for ensuring that building work is safe, durable, sustainable and poses no danger to the health and wellbeing of property owners and users.

Building consent means a consent to carry out building work granted by a building consent authority under Section 49 of the Building Act 2004.
Each Council department will review and assess the application for compliance with the building code, Building Act, building regulations and Resource Management Act 1991.

A building consent is confirmation by us that the proposed building, plumbing, drainage and safety requirements comply with the building code. Almost all building work needs a building consent, and you may also need resource consent for earthworks, building and other environmental effects.
We strongly recommend that you get in touch with us during the planning stages of your project to ensure that you are on the right track.

Find out how to apply for a building consent and how much it costs. Remember your work cannot start until the fees are paid and your building consent is issued.

The time it takes to grant and issue a building consent depends on the complexity of your project, whether or not you have provided all the correct information and if your project includes a National Multiple-Use Approval (MultiProof) certificate. Before the building consent can be granted we must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the provisions of the building code would be met if the building work were properly completed in accordance with the plans and specifications that accompanied the application.

Once we are satisfied the project will meet building code requirements, building consent can be granted and the 20-day statutory clock finally stops. Most building consents need to be approved or refused within 20 working days, however when your building consent application includes a National Multiple-Use Approval (MultiProof) certificate, the application must be granted or refused within 10 working days. Generally we find that complete and technically correct building consent applications are processed faster.

Applications with incorrect information however may take longer to process. In this situation applicants will receive a written request for further information, which will stop the working day clock. Processing of the application will continue and the clock will restart when the requested information is provided in full. Then your consent will be granted.

Please note: Work must not begin on the project until a building consent (and resource consent if required) has been granted and issued.

Building consent conditions and advisory notes

Conditions are requirements imposed on your building consent which are deemed necessary to ensure the compliance of the proposed building. The conditions are listed on the building consent and must be complied with. There are five specific conditions that can be applied to an issued building consent and owners and builder/developers should ensure that they understand these and their implications if:

• The approved plans contain waivers or modifications to the building code issued by the Territorial Authority, section 67 of the Building Act.
• The building consent has been issued with a notification, condition, that the land is subject to natural hazards, see section 72 of the Building Act.
• The building consent has been issued subject to a condition to allow for building over two or more allotments, section 75 of the Building Act.
• The building consent has been issued with the condition that inspections will need to be conducted, section 90 of the Building Act. Inspections may be conducted by council officers and may sometimes be required to be conducted by other professionals like structural engineers. These will have to provide documentation that they have conducted these inspections and they will need to be organised and paid for by the builder/developer/owner.
• The building consent has been issued with the condition that the structure has a 'specified intended life' as determined by the owner/application, section 113 of the Building Act.

Advisory notes may also be attached to the building consent. This information is provided to assist you. It is important that you read and understand all these requirements prior to commencing work. If you do not understand any requirement imposed, please contact us.

Extending the specified intended life of a building (Section 116 Building Act)

Most buildings have an indefinite life exceeding 50 years. At times they could be assessed as having an agreed specified life of less than 50 years possibly due to inadequacies of building code compliance or on owner's request to have a temporarily located building.

Where a building consent is granted for a building with a specified intended life, it is granted subject to the condition that 'the building must be altered, demolished or removed before the end of its specified life'.

An owner of a building must give written notice to the CODC if they propose extending the life of a building. If the territorial authority is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the building can satisfactorily perform for a further specified time, it will approve the extension in accordance with Section 116 of the Building Act 2014.

Central Otago District Council requires the full fee payment to be made before we can issue your building consent.

We will send your invoice to you by email. This invoice will have your customer number for you to reference, and our bank account details on it.

Your building consent will be issued once the fees have been paid.

Further charges will only be incurred at the end of the project if building inspections completed on site are more than what was allowed for in the allocated fees for the project.

Our charges are made up of the following components:

• Time spent processing the application
• Number of inspections (type and number vary depending on type and scope of work)
• Issue of code compliance certificate
• Issue of a compliance schedule where applicable. (This is mainly for commercial work)
• Levies payable to MBIE (payable on all applications over $65,000) refer to current fees and charges
• Levies payable to Building Research Association of New Zealand (payable on all applications over $20,000) refer to current fees and charges

Development contributions

A development contribution is a contribution of cash by developers to fund the additional demand for reserves, network infrastructure and community infrastructure created by growth.

Development contributions may apply to applications for resource consent, building consent (if commercial or multi-unit) or service connections lodged with CODC.

Development contributions must be paid in full before a code compliance certificate will be issued.

For more information, please phone (03) 440 0056 and ask to speak to the CODC Planning Team.

A building consent is granted when we are satisfied that the project will meet building code requirements. Building work must begin within 12 months and adhere to the approved building plans. A building consent lapses if not given effect to within 12 months. Inspections are required throughout the construction process in order to secure the final Code Compliance Certificate.

You should plan to complete your project within 24 months.

If you want to withdraw an application, you can do it at any time before the work starts. Requests to withdraw/cancel a building consent must be in writing. Council will refund the fees less any reasonable charges for processing the consent to date.

Alterations to existing buildings

(Section 112 Building Act 2004)

If a building consent is required for work on your house you will need to show us that the building has or will be fitted with smoke alarms in compliant positions, and that the means of escape from fire complies as nearly as reasonably practicable.

With alterations to commercial, public use and buildings of the like the applicant must demonstrate how the entire building (not just the altered portion) complies as near as reasonably practicable with 'means of escape from fire' and 'access and facilities for people with disabilities'. The key element here is that it must be no worse than before and the highest level of compliance that can be reasonably considered practical will be achieved. The 'as near as reasonably practicable' clause can only be used on reasonable grounds and must take into account case law and MBIE guidance. If the application does not demonstrate compliance or propose practicable upgrades (including a sacrifices vs benefits analysis for shortcomings) the Council will not have reasonable grounds to issue a building consent.

Building - General Enquiry

Phone: (03) 440 0056

Resolving Problems (Complaints process)

Throughout the consenting process the building team maintain a customer focus. However, if you are unhappy with the building team's customer service or decisions, all complaints should be forwarded to the Council's Regulatory Services Manager. The complaint will be investigated and the Regulatory Services Manager will determine what further action should to be taken in regard to the complaint.

If the outcome from a complaint is deemed unsatisfactory by the complainant, the matter will be escalated to the Executive Manager of Planning and Environment for determination.

All formal complaints to the Council must be received in writing (email or letter.) Complaints should be addressed to: Regulatory Services Manager, Central Otago District Council, PO Box 122, Alexandra 9340 or emailed to: building@codc.govt.nz

Our standard response timeframe is an acknowledgement within two working days and a response in 10 working days. However, if the issue needs more time we will let you know and keep you updated.

If you have any queries, concerns or complaints about Council's building control functions, guidance on resolving problems can found on the Building Performance website.

The Building Act has provision to obtain a determination. A determination is a legally binding ruling made by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) about matters of doubt or dispute to do with building work. Guidance about determinations can also be found on the Building Performance website.

Determinations Process

If you have a complaint regarding a building or building work and whether it complies with the Building Code this should be discussed with Central Otago District Council in the first instance to try and resolve the complaint. However, if this cannot be resolved the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) have the ability to make a determination on the matter.

A determination is a legally binding ruling made by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) about matters of doubt or dispute to do with building work. Guidance about determinations can also be found on the Building Performance website.

Determinations