Building Consent in NZ — What Homeowners Need to Know

Building Consent in NZ — What Homeowners Need to Know

Most homeowners think of a building consent as paperwork you get through before the real work starts. The bit that surprises people is what happens when you don't need one. A tiled shower can be installed with no consent at all, and still fail the Building Code — which is exactly what MBIE found in a 2024 determination where water was getting behind the linings and into concealed building spaces.

That is the thing to hold onto. A consent is a check on your plans, not a guarantee about your build. The Building Code applies to all building work in New Zealand, consented or not, and the building owner is the one responsible for getting it right.

How We Researched This Guide

We worked from MBIE's building guidance, the Building Act 2004 and its forms regulations, and the determinations MBIE publishes when a council and an owner disagree. The procedural detail — Form 2 for the application, Form 6 for the code compliance certificate, Form 7 for the certificate itself — is set out in the Building (Forms) Regulations 2004 on legislation.govt.nz, and we checked each one rather than paraphrasing from a council summary.

One thing we had to be careful about: consent fees. Every council sets its own, and there is no reliable national figure. We have not put a dollar amount anywhere in this guide, because we could not verify one. We also found that councils have historically applied the Schedule 1 exemptions differently, which is why the honest advice is always to confirm your own project with your own council.

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The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

If you read nothing else, read this.

• A building consent application goes to the council for the district where the work is, on Form 2.
• Once the council accepts the application and deposit, it has 20 working days to grant or refuse.
• That clock stops while the council waits for further information — the most common cause of delay, and usually within the applicant's control.
• A project information memorandum is optional but recommended; it must be issued within 20 working days.
• You must apply for a code compliance certificate once the work is done, and the council has 20 working days to decide.
• If no CCC application is made within two years of the consent being granted, the council must decide whether to issue one anyway.

How the Consent Process Actually Runs

An application for a building consent is made to a building consent authority — usually the council — for the district where the work will happen. It must be on Form 2 from the Building (Forms) Regulations 2004. With it goes your plans and specifications, any current CodeMark product certificates, certificates of design work from Licensed Building Practitioners, and a development contribution notice where one applies.

A project information memorandum is optional for work that needs a consent, but it is worth getting. It tells you what the council already knows about the site — hazards, infrastructure, and any other approvals you will need. Only the territorial authority for the district can issue one, and it must be issued within 20 working days of receiving the application, or within 10 working days after any further information arrives.

The 20-day clock, and how it stops

Once the council accepts your application and deposit, the statutory clock starts: 20 working days to grant or refuse. That sounds generous until you realise the clock excludes time spent waiting for further information. This is the single most common reason a consent takes longer than 20 working days, and it is almost always something the applicant can control. Answer requests quickly and completely.

Two other certificates can attach to a consent. A Form 4 certificate under section 37 can state that building work may not proceed until a resource consent has been obtained, or may only proceed to the extent stated. A notice under section 36 can advise that a development contribution under the Local Government Act 2002 must be paid before a code compliance certificate can be issued.

When You Don't Need Consent — and Why That Isn't the End of It

Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004 contains the exemptions. Clause 12 covers internal linings and finishes — work on any internal lining or finish of a wall, ceiling or floor of an existing dwelling. Clause 35 covers alterations to existing sanitary plumbing, excluding water heaters, provided the total number of sanitary fixtures in the building is not increased and no specified system is modified.

The practical effect is broader than people expect. Replacing a bath, bidet, wash hand basin, shower or toilet pan within an existing bathroom is generally unlikely to need consent. Moving a toilet pan from a toilet compartment into an adjacent existing bathroom, remodelling a kitchen within the same space with the sink in the same position, or moving a laundry tub to an adjacent room are all in the same category. Adding a shower, hand basin and toilet to an ensuite is not — that increases the fixture count.

Keep a simple record as you go: photos of the work at each stage, the product datasheets for anything you install, and the name and licence number of anyone who worked on it. If you ever sell, or if a council ever questions the work, that folder does more for you than any conversation you can reconstruct from memory.

The point almost everyone misses

Exemption from a building consent is not exemption from the Building Code. All building work, consented or exempt, must still comply. The building owner is responsible for deciding whether the proposed work is exempt and for making sure it complies.

Determination 2024/054 makes this concrete. MBIE considered two tiled showers in an existing dwelling. The wet area membrane fell within clause 12 and did not require consent. But the showers failed Building Code Clause E3 Internal Moisture, because cracking let water penetrate behind the linings and into concealed building spaces. No consent needed, and still a failure.

Where the process ends: the CCC

A code compliance certificate is a formal statement under section 95 that the work complies with the consent. You apply on Form 6 once all work is complete, with records of work from your LBPs, energy work certificates, and anything else the authority reasonably requires. The council has 20 working days to decide, and only the authority that granted the consent can issue it unless you and another authority agree otherwise. It is issued on Form 7, and once it is issued, no more changes can be made to the consent.

Questions You Might Have

What happens if I never apply for a code compliance certificate?

If no application is made before two years from the date the consent was granted, the building consent authority must decide whether to issue the CCC anyway. The timeframe can be extended by agreement between the authority and the owner. Either way, an unconsented or non-CCC'd alteration travels with the property when you sell.

Can the council refuse to issue a CCC?

Yes. If it refuses, it must give you written notice setting out the reasons. That usually means the work does not match the approved consent, or required records of work are missing. The fix is to address the specific reason and reapply rather than argue the point.

Do I need an LBP to prepare the application?

Some work on a home must be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner — this is called Restricted Building Work. Check the individual on the public register at lbp.govt.nz, and confirm they are licensed in the correct class for the work, not merely licensed in general. A practitioner in the wrong class is effectively unlicensed for that job.

Ask for their licence number before work starts and write it into the contract. It takes thirty seconds to check the register, and it is far harder to sort out after the work is finished and the invoice is paid.

What if my project also needs a resource consent?

Resource consent deals with land use and environmental effects; building consent deals with construction standards. You may need both, and a section 37 certificate can prevent building work starting until the resource consent is in hand. Check both early rather than sequentially.

What Matters Most

The consent process is not the hard part. The 20-working-day clock is generous if you answer questions promptly, and the forms are prescribed and published. What catches homeowners out is assuming that a consent equals a quality check on the finished work.

It does not. A consent checks your plans against the Building Code. The code itself applies to everything, consented or not, and the 2024 determination shows how easily a job can pass the paperwork stage and still fail on moisture. Keep your consent documents, your records of work and your CCC together — they are what a future buyer's lawyer will ask for.

Confirm your own project with your own council before you start. Exemptions have been read differently around the country, and a five-minute phone call is cheaper than undoing work.