Residential building consents
Applications can be complex. Council recommends you engage a professional to help with the design work and drawings.
Restricted building work
‘Restricted building work’ is work that’s critical to make a home structurally sound and weathertight. You must use Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) to design and carry out this work. LBPs must do or supervise this work.
The person applying for building consent is responsible for submitting the Memorandum (Certificate of Design Work) with their application. As the designer, you must provide a Memorandum (Certificate of Design Work) to the building owner. This Memorandum (Certificate of Design Work) needs to be given to the council when applying for building consent.
You can download the Memorandum - Certificate of Design Work from the Consents forms and guides A - Z page.
Owner-builder exemption
Building work that is in the Restricted Building Work category must only be done by or under the supervision of Licensed Building Practitioners (LBP), unless you are using the Owner-Builder Exemption. Owner-builders must provide a statutory declaration with their building consent application. Please refer to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's website for more information on the requirements for owner-builder exemptions.
How to make an appointment for further assistance
Please phone 03 546 0200 if you would like to make an appointment to speak to the Duty Building Officer.
Important note
Once a consent has been issued building work must commence within twelve (12) months of the date of issue. If it does not, the consent will lapse and a new consent must be applied for unless an extension of further time to commence work has been applied for and approved by the Building Consent Authority.
Fees
Fees and levies are based on the value of works and are explained in the Building Unit Fees and Charges.