What is a Compliance Schedule?
Building owners and managers of commercial industrial or communal (public use) buildings are responsible, under the Building Act 2004, to have and maintain a compliance schedule and building warrant of fitness
A compliance schedule is issued by the Building Consent Authority (BCA) listing the specified systems within a building (e.g. sprinkler systems, lifts, smoke detectors). These systems ensure a building is safe and healthy for people to enter, occupy or use. The Compliance Schedule for a building must identify which specified systems are present, the performance standards for those systems, and who is required to inspect, maintain, and report that those systems continue to function as installed.
For new buildings, a compliance schedule is issued with the Code Compliance Certificate. Where a compliance schedule has been issued for the first time, a Compliance Schedule statement is issued by Council. This is a temporary public notification of compliance with the Compliance Schedule requirements and is replaced after 12 months by the Building Warrant of Fitness (BWoF).
The owner must display this document in a public area within the building. After receiving a Compliance Schedule statement, owners must engage an Independent Qualified Person (IQP) as soon as possible (typically within one month) to ensure that all inspection, maintenance and reporting (IMR) is completed for the next 12 months.
What is a Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF)?
A BWOF (Form 12) is a statement issued by the building owner to Council stating that the requirements of the Compliance Schedule have been fully met.
MBIE Form 12 Building Warrant of Fitness
The BWOF must have attached to it all Certificates of Compliance issued by the IQP or LBP. These documents must be issued in the prescribed form (Form 12A) and certify that the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures stated in the Compliance Schedule, have been fully complied with during the previous 12 months.
The BWOF must be re-issued to Council on the anniversary of the issue of the Compliance Schedule (every 12 months) for the life of the building.
What documents should I keep regarding the BWOF?
You are legally required to obtain written reports relating to the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures of the Compliance Schedule. These should be signed by the IQP who has carried out any of the listed procedures, (inspection, maintenance or reporting).
You are required to keep all reports for a period of 2 years and produce these for inspection when required.
Who is an Independently Qualified Person (IQP)?
An IQP is a person approved by a territorial authority as qualified to inspect, maintain and report on certain specified systems. 'Independent' means that the person has no financial interest in the building.
Council does not perform Building Warrant of Fitness inspections or certification for building owners, although we carry out inspections for auditing purposes. The role of an IQP is to inspect, report on, and maintain the specified systems as detailed on the Compliance Schedule.
You are required by law to have annual written reports relating to the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures of the Compliance Schedule signed by each person who has carried out those procedures. Keep the reports with the Compliance Schedule for two years and make sure they are accessible when inspections are carried out.
Renewing a BWOF
A month before a Building Warrant of Fitness is due to expire; we will send you (as the building owner) a reminder letter. The reminder letter includes information on completing MBIE's Form.
The owner must complete and sign two copies of the Building Warrant of Fitness form. One copy must be displayed in the building, and the other must be sent to Council, with all required form 12A certificates.
When is a BWOF required?
If your building contains any specified systems, you must have a Building Warrant of Fitness:
What is a specified system?
Specified systems are systems or features installed in a building that are crucial to the safety and health of the building and those who use it, or systems which, if they are not maintained, could cause injury or harm. When you apply for a building consent, you must include a list of all specified systems in the building project.
Specified systems includes:
| Specified Systems | |
| 1 | Automatic systems for fire suppression |
| 1.1 | Sprinkler system |
| 1.2 | Gas and foam flood or deluge systems: dry and wet fire extinguishing systems |
| 2 | Automatic or manual emergency warning systems for fire or other dangers |
| 2.1 | Manual and automatic fire alarms: smoke/head detectors: gas: radiation systems |
| 2.2 | Automatic gas leak detection systems for the detection and measurement of combustible gases |
| 3 | Electromagnetic or automatic doors or windows |
| 3.1 | Automatic doors e.g. sliding or revolving doors (Are any of the doors interfaced with emergency warning systems?) |
| 3.2 | Access controlled doors (swipe card, keypad, sensor-delayed egress, etc) |
| 3.3 | Interfaced fire or smoke door or windows (electromagnetic door holders) |
| 4 | Emergency lighting systems |
| 5 | Escape route pressurisation systems |
| 6 | Riser mains for use of fire services |
| 7 | Automatic back-flow preventers connected to a potable water supply |
| 8 | Lifts, escalators, travellators or other systems for moving people or good within a building |
| 8.1 | Passenger carrying lifts |
| 8.2 | Good or service lifts |
| 8.3 | Escalators and moving walks |
| 9 | Mechanical ventilation or air condition systems |
| 10 | Building maintenance units or other devices providing access to the interior/exterior of a building |
| 11 | Laboratory fume cupboards |
| 12 | Audio loops or other assistive listening systems |
| 12.1 | Audio loop |
| 12.2 | FM radio frequency systems and infrared beam transmission |
| 13 | Smoke control systems (Refer to section 3.7 of this document for additional information on smoke control systems) |
| 13.1 | Mechanical smoke control systems |
| 13.2 | Natural smoke control systems |
| 13.3 | Smoke curtains |
| 14 | Emergency power systems for or signs relating to, a system or feature in any of the specified systems 1-13 |
| 15 | Any or all of the following systems and features, so long as they form part of a building's means of escape from fire, and so long as those means also contain any or all of the systems or features specified in 1 to 6, 9 and 13: |
| 15a | Systems for communicating spoken information intended to facilitate evacuation |
| 15b | Final exits |
| 15c | Fire separation |
| 15d |
Signs for communicating information intended to facilitate evacuation: and such signs as required by:
|
| 15e | Smoke separation |
| 16 | Cable cars |
Detailed information regarding specified systems can be located on MBIE’s Building Performance website: Building code - compliance schedule handbook
Note: From 31 March 2008, a single household unit requires a Compliance Schedule, if it contains a cable car or is serviced by a cable car.
For the first 12 months of the period of the compliance schedule, the building owner or manager must ensure the compliance schedule is displayed publicly in the building so that the users of the building (including building officers, Independent Qualified Persons (IQPs), and authorised agents) can have access to it, along with the Compliance Schedule Statement.
Additional Information
Additional information is available on MBIE's website including:
- Owner's responsibilities to ensure buildings are safe to use
- Managing your BWoF (for buildings with specified systems)
- Forms for building maintenance management
