A guide to when do I need a Building Consent?

A Project Information Memorandum (PIM) sets out any information Council has that may affect your proposed building project.  This may be useful when designing the structure as it gives you information such as compliance with the District Plan, land structure, current drainage positions and any natural hazards that may affect the site.  For example, sometimes a PIM will specify the need to obtain a resource consent before you being building work.  The District Plan sets out which activities will require resource consent.

Do I need a PIM?
Even though applying for a PIM is optional, it is strongly recommended you do so before lodging a building consent with us, as it can provide valuable information and could prevent delays in processing your building consent application.

A PIM also identifies any additional approvals required such as:

• Resource Management Act
• Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (work affecting heritage buildings/sites) and
• New Zealand Fire Service Commission

How to apply for a PIM
An application for a PIM is made by using the Objective Build Create an account and apply through Objective Build. This can be accessed via Kaipara District Council’s Website. If you are unable to access Objective Build and need assistance with a hardcopy application, please contact one of our team members at Kaipara District Council either by phoning on 0800 727 059 or by emailing buildingsupport@kaipara.govt.nz.

Documentation required

All applications must be accompanied by one copy of:

• a site plan
• a floor plan
• building elevations
• working drawings including foundations, cross-sections etcetera; and
• certificate of Title along with any consent notices associated with the title
• supporting documentation such as from Geotechnical and/or Chartered Professional engineers
• technical specifications for products used with appropriate supporting documents

How long does it take?
Council is required to issue the PIM within twenty (20) working days of the application being received, however, depending on workloads, this may be earlier.

Note:  Providing all fees are paid, the PIM will be sent to the applicant when it is issued.  If the PIM is applied for with the building consent, the timeframe for the issue of both is 20 working days.

Sometimes it may be necessary for Council to request further information (RFI) from you to enable your PIM to be processed.  In such cases the Council will contact you with a form request for further information.

A Building Consent is the formal approval issued by a Building Consent Authority (BCA) that certain building work meets the requirements of the New Zealand Building Act 2004 (the Act), Building Regulations and Building Code.  

You cannot undertake any building work that requires a building consent without this approval.  Most building work requires a building consent, but some minor building work is exempt under the Act.

Note: There are some exceptions to the examples given below.

Please refer also to Schedule One of the Building Act for information on building work that is exempt from the requirement to obtain a building consent: Schedule 1: Building work that does not require a building consent | Building Performance.

A Building Consent is required for most work including:

• swimming pools, spa pools and some fencing
• retaining walls over 1.5 metres (no surcharge)
• retaining walls any height incurring a surcharge
• decks over 1.5 metres high
• pergolas that have roofing material fixed (no limits otherwise)
• free-standing non-habitable buildings larger than 10 square metres
• plumbing and drainage work 
• partial demolition (see exemption 30 for Demolition that does not require a consent)
• relocation of buildings onto permanent foundations (a building consent is not required to relocate a building onto temporary foundations until a formal consent application is made for the building to be used as a dwelling, furthermore, customers are advised to check Planning rules as this is not to be considered as Planning approval.
• Note: the building must not be used for habitation until it has been legally certified by Council
• additions, alterations to existing buildings other than what is exempted under schedule 1 (see link above)
• new buildings
• change of use (may include an increase in occupant numbers)
• heating including fireplaces, and
• ventilation and air-conditioning systems (commercial).

There are always certain ‘Advice Notes’ and often ‘Conditions’ that are included with your building consent. It is very important that you read these and comply with them.

The conditions will be based on certain sections of the building Act 2004 such as:

• Section 67 – when the consent is subject a waiver or modification to the building code
• Section 71-73 – when the land the building is on is subject to a natural hazard
• Section 75 – when the proposed building is constructed across a boundary
• Section 113 – when the specified intended life of a building has been reached
• Section 90 – that the building work is subject to inspections including professionals such as Chartered Professional Engineers or registered surveyors to confirm that the building work complies with the building consent. See also ‘the inspection process’ below.

The ‘advice notes’ are various other requirements that the BCA needs to assist in making compliance decisions such as commissioning statements for specified systems or wastewater systems etc.

It is important that you read and understand all conditions and/or advice notes before commencing building work.  If you do not understand any condition and/or advice note, then please contact us to discuss these.

It is very important to identify early whether the land you are proposing to build on is subject to a natural hazard. The Building Act 2004 has specific rules that the BCA is required to follow and may affect the design proposal or even cause the BCA to decline the application.

The types of hazards are specified under section 71 of the Building Act 2004 and include:

erosion:

• falling debris (including soil, rock, snow and ice
• subsidence
• inundation (including flooding, overland flow, storm surge, tidal effects, and ponding), and
• slippage.

The BCA must refuse to grant a building consent under section 71 unless the BCA is satisfied that adequate provision has been, or will be made to:

• protect the land, building work, or other property affected from the natural hazard, or
• restore any damage to that land or property as a result of the building work.

If the BCA is unable to issue a building consent under section 71 it may consider section 72:

Section 72 - Building consent for building on land subject to natural hazards must be granted in certain cases
Despite section 71, a BCA that is a Territorial Authority (TA) must grant a building consent if the BCA considers that—

• the building work to which an application for a building consent relates will not accelerate, worsen, or result in a natural hazard on the land on which the building work is to be carried out or any other property; and
• the land is subject or is likely to be subject to 1 or more natural hazards; and
• it is reasonable to grant a waiver or modification of the building code in respect of the natural hazard concerned.

If the BCA issues a building consent under section 72 it must also notify details of the building consent to the Registrar-General of Land. Simply put, the hazard will be registered on the title. This may have insurance and financial implications so the earlier this is detected and defined the better.

Please refer to the Building Act 2004 sections 71 – 74 for detailed information

Building Act 2004 No 72 (as at 08 April 2025), Public Act 71 Building on land subject to natural hazards – New Zealand Legislation

The New Zealand Building Act 2004, Schedule 1 provides a comprehensive list of building work that does not require a building consent (exempt).

Please click on the link below to Schedule 1: HERE

There is also the provision in Schedule 1, Section 2 called ‘Territorial & Regional Authority Exemptions’.

Under this section Council may exercise discretion and consider an exemption application from the requirement for a building consent where the proposed work is not contained in the list as a particular exemption.

‘If the proposed scope of your building work is marginally beyond the scope of a particular exemption, we suggest that you consider applying to the Council for an ‘exemption 2’.  The council can then exercise its discretion as to whether or not it will require a building consent.  Before doing this, we recommend that you talk to the council to gauge whether or not it is prepared to exercise its discretion under exemption 2 on your project’ – MBIE Guidance.

Application forms for ‘discretionary exemptions’ are found on Kaipara District Council’s Website Building Information ‘forms’.  However, we recommend that you contact Customer Services in the first instance and log a service request for a building officer to call you back and discuss the building work and whether the proposal could be considered as an exemption.

Check out - Do you need a building consent?

Additional building consent exemptions were added to the Building Act, effective August 2020. Building consents will no longer be needed for a number of new or expanded types of low-risk building work, like sleep-outs, sheds, carports, outdoor fireplaces and ground-mounted solar panels (certain limitations apply to the above).

Building work that does not require a building consent must still comply with the Building Code and other legislative requirements, such as those under the Resource Management Act 1991, the Electricity Act 1992 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Building work must also meet the requirements of the District Plan.

Full details relating to new building works exemptions can be found under the Government’s new exemptions at building.govt.nz - new building exemptions.

A guide to building work that does not require a building consent under the Building Act 2004 is available at Exemptions Guidance for Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004

Additional information regarding legislation; “Building (Exempt Building Work) Order 2020” can also be found on legislation.govt.nz

For guidance or further information please telephone customer services on 0800 727 059.

 ‘All building work must comply with the NZ building code to the extent required by the Building Act, whether or not a building consent is required for that work’.  Section 40 Building Act 2004

A person who is an owner-builder may carry out restricted building work without being supervised by a LBP.  The Statutory Declaration must be completed.

For the purposes of the Building Act 2004, you are an owner-builder if you meet the following criteria including:

• having a relevant interest in the land or the building on which the restricted building work is carryout out (i.e., ownership), and
• reside, or intends to reside, in the household unit in relation to which the restricted building work is carried out (this includes a holiday home or bach), and
• carries out the restrict building work himself or herself or with the assistance of his or her unpaid friends and family members, and
• has not, under the owner-builder exemption, carried out restricted building work in relation to a different household unit with the previous 3 years.

Note: An owner-builder must be an individual and cannot be a company

From 1st March 2012 the Licensed Building Practitioner scheme was enacted under the Building Act 2004.

Restricted Building Work is residential design, construction, or alteration work that:

• requires a building consent
• and involves or affects a home’s:
• primary structure
• weather tightness
• certain fire safety design

For a full explanation of this law please refer to the MBIE web page: Use Licensed people for restricted building work.

A Certificate of Work from a Licenced Building Practitioner who holds the appropriate design licence is required to accompany all residential applications that involve Restricted Building Work (RBW). The only exception to this is if you wish to apply as an Owner Builder. There are strict rules around this however and remember that Council is not an educator to teach the complex language of building law. Neither is Council authorised to provide design advice.

 It would be an advantage to provide details of the Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) to be used for each stage of the project (i.e., Design, Site, Foundations, Carpenter, Brick/Blockwork, Roofer, and External Plasterer).

To check if your designer or contractor is currently licensed, we recommend that you check Licensed Building Practitioners.

It is understood however that not all this information will be known at the time of lodging the building consent application. Nevertheless, it is a Building Act requirement that no work is to start prior to notifying the BCA of the LBP undertaking RBW.

Please see link from MBIE for Owner Builder Advice. Please also remember that this application is available using Objective Build system online so again no paper form is required.

Forms can also be obtained from: 

• Council’s website or
• Council offices at: Unit 6, 6 Molesworth Drive, Mangawhai 0505, or 32 Hokianga Road, Dargaville 0310. 

On receipt of your application, our Technical Services Team will vet your plans to ensure all relevant information has been provided.

Please note: This is not a technical assessment but merely a check to ensure all necessary information has been provided.

On receipt of your application, the 20-working day statutory time clock will start however, any requests for further information (VRFI) at Vetting will stop the statutory time clock and when all necessary information is satisfactorily provided along with your paid fees, the statutory time clock will reset to day one.  If your application is declined, you will be notified and informed of what is still required.