Building Control

Building Consents

The Building Consent process, including the Building Code, was introduced with the Building Act 1991.  The purposes of this Act are to provide for:

• necessary controls relating to building work and the use of buildings, and for ensuring that buildings are safe and sanitary and have means of escape from fire; and
• the coordination of those controls with other controls relating to building use and the management of natural and physical resources.

Building consent means a consent to carry out building work granted by a territorial authority and includes any conditions to which it may be subject.  All building work shall comply with the building code to the extent required by the Act, whether or not a building consent is required in respect of that building work.  There is a copy of the Building Code and Handbook in the reference section of our City Library.

There is also a requirement to comply with other Acts. For instance, check with Council planning officers that the proposed structure will comply with provisions of the Resource Management Act.  Making alterations to a building, or using a building for activities other than those originally envisaged, triggers the need to upgrade the building for some aspects of the code.  Check with Council officers about your specific proposal.

Note:
Building Consents cannot be issued for existing buildings.

Do I need a Building Consent?

Click on one of the following links for details on the specific requirements for:

• Decks
• Drainage
• Fences
• Garden Sheds
• Retaining Walls
• Tents & Marquees
• Porches
• Plumbing

Decks

Decks require a building consent if they:

• are more than 1m high at any point or
• are adjacent to a bank.

You should consider obtaining a building consent for the deck if there is a possibility that you may wish to enclose the deck at a later stage (for a conservatory or the like).

Unless there has been a building permit or consent, Council will require an engineers report on the deck and its foundations, when applying for subsequent building consents for such enclosures.

Note:
Pergolas and verandah roofs over decks do require building consents.

Foundations:

You should check that your deck foundations:

• are clear of drains (call at Council to get a copy of the drainage plan for your property) and
• provide access panels for gully traps.

Structure:

You should check that your deck structure:

• does not cover over any subfloor ventilation grilles;
• does not compromise vehicle access to the property (the fire brigade may need to get to the back of the house).

Steps:

Any steps must comply with the code (equal risers of 190mm max, and treads 280mm min, with a handrail provided if there are more than 3 risers).

The owner of a property is responsible for ensuring that stormwater collected on his property (by buildings, other structures or paving) does not flow in a concentrated way onto neighbouring property, and so create a nuisance.

This Council does not require a building consent for the maintenance or replacement of an existing soakpit.

You should ensure that:

• the soakpit is at least 3 metres away from buildings and boundaries.
• you dig down until you reach free draining soils/river run (check with Council how far you are likely to have to dig down).
• you check the percolation (that water does in fact drain freely away) before filling with boulders.

All other drainage work needs a Building Consent and is to be done by Registered drainlayers.

Fences

Fences require building consents if they:

• are more than 2m in height (measured from the low side) or

• form part of a fence around a swimming pool (the fence around a swimming pool, even it is also a boundary fence or a building, always requires a building consent).

Small sheds require Building consents if they:

• are more than 10 square metres in area, and/or
• are sited less than their height away from the house and the boundaries (a 2m high shed must be sited at least 2m away from the boundary, and not be placed hard into the corner of the property unless a building consent is obtained).

Such a shed may not be used for sleeping, storing dangerous goods, or have any plumbing fittings inside.

Retaining Walls

Retaining walls require a building consent if they:

• are more than 1.5 metres high (measured from the foundation) or
• have a building or driveway near the top.

Where the wall is more than a metre high and the top of the wall is accessible, you will need to also erect a safety barrier at the top to comply with the Building Code.

Tents and Marquees

A tent/marquee requires a building consent if:

• It is to be erected more than 30 days (regardless of size) or
• Is more than 30 square metres in area (regardless of length of time erected).

Porches

The enclosure of a verandah, patio or the like, to form a porch, requires a building consent if the porch is more than 5 square metres in area.

You should make sure that such a porch does not enclose the main window to a habitable area and so compromise the ventilation of the room, and that the porch area does not enclose a gully trap.

Plumbing

You can replace (with comparable items), taps, washers and ball washers in domestic systems without a building consent.

All other work has to be done by qualified/registered persons and generally a building consent is required for any work other than "like for like" replacement.  So a building consent is usually required for remodelling kitchens and bathrooms when fittings are shifted.