New regulations were introduced on January 1, 2015 that are a major change to the way you have interacted with your building professionals.
These include mandatory contracts for work over $30,000, financial and history disclosures from your builder, a clear understanding of the scope of work to be carried out and that the builder has to ensure that you, the client, be ‘informed’ about building. Read about the Building Amendment Act 2013 below…
If you’re building or renovating, we strongly recommend you work your way through this site.
We have:
More information on building practitioner licensing and restricted building work is available on the LBP website here…
Do You Have a Complaint Against a Licensed Building Practioner? Here’s Where To Do It…
Building work in New Zealand is controlled by the Building Act 2004 and the various Building Regulations which includes the building code.
The legislation is administered nationally by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – Building and Housing Group and on a local basis by Building Consent Authorities using a building consent process.
The regulations prescribe the Building Code with which all building work must comply. Performance standards that must be met include building:
You must have a Building Consent to carry out “building work” except work exempted under Schedule 1. Even exempted work must comply with the Building Code.
A Resource Consent and other authorisations may also be required before building work can commence. One or more of each consent type may be required for the same project.
Note: Building Consents authorise “building work” not land use, and Resource Consents authorise land use and not building work.
Not as stupid a question as you might think.
A building is any temporary or permanent, movable or immovable structure and its service connections, so it includes temporary structures such as marquees. Please note this list is not exhaustive and you should check with your BCA prior to commencing work.
Council is both a building consent authority (BCA) and a territorial authority (TA) under the Building Act. Its function is to:
Passed at the end of November 2013, it made some critical changes to the things you have to do if you’re building new or renovating or doing any DIY work.
They include changes to the types of work that do not require building consent. More low-risk work is exempt from building consent and there are limits on potentially high-risk work.
The do’s and don’ts of exempt building work are listed in Schedule 1 of the Act, which has been reformatted to make it easier to navigate.
Schedule 1 has been split into three parts:
All building work must comply with the Building Code and any alterations or additions to an existing building must not adversely affect the building’s compliance with the Building Code.
Other changes to the Act include higher penalties for work done without the proper consent.
Once building work has commenced as a result of the issue of the building consent, any desired changes to the building work which vary from the issued Building Consent need to be carefully considered to assess whether there is a requirement to apply for an amendment building consent, or whether the changed work can be considered to be a “minor variation”.
Contact can be made with the building section of your local council to ascertain whether the desired changes are only a “minor variation”.
To assist in working through the question for yourself, there is a helpful guide produced by the DBH titled “Minor variations to building consents: Guidance on definition, assessment and granting” Feb 2010 available here…
Replaced the Building Act 1991 and primarily affected the building consent process. The main changes to the consent process came into affect on 31 March 2005, when the 1991 Building Act was repealed.
New material covers ‘Restricted Building Work’ and the role of Licensed Building Practitioners in getting building consents. Please read both these items – they directly affect you if you’re undertaking building work.
If work that required a building consent has been completed without first obtaining one, owners cannot apply for the building consent retrospectively. Instead, owners can apply for a Certificate of Acceptance.
The BCA (your local council) will often request additional information to that supplied in your Building Consent Application – producer statements, additional detailing, etc. The 20-day clock with stop at this point and won’t ‘restart’ until the new information is provided to the BCA.
We strongly recommend you consult your local council before doing any work. Any work done must conform to the Building Code.
The MultiProof service, launched in 1 February 2010, enables volume builders to obtain a MultiProof or National Multiple-Use Approval for standardised building designs that are intended to be replicated several times.
MultiProof approvals are issued by the Department of Building and Housing. A MultiProof is a statement by the Department that a specific set of building plans and specifications complies with the New Zealand Building Code. Under the Building Act 2004 (as amended in 2009), Building Consent Authorities must accept a MultiProof as evidence of Building Code compliance.
A building consent is still needed for a building with MultiProof approval. The role of Building Consent Authorities is to:
There’s more information here…
Once building work has commenced as a result of the issue of the building consent, any desired changes to the building work which vary from the issued Building Consent need to be carefully considered to assess whether there is a requirement to apply for an amendment building consent, or whether the changed work can be considered to be a “minor variation”.
Contact can be made with the building section of your local council to ascertain whether the desired changes are only a “minor variation”.
To assist in working through the question for yourself, Go here: Minor variations to building consents
If you want to build your own house and you are not a licensed builder you are actually allowed to, including doing Restricted Building Work, but you have to do the work yourself or use friends or family (who can not be paid), and you are not allowed to have done this anytime in the previous three years.
If you do use a licensed professional for something like roofing, then from our reading of the rules it would appear that you will need to use a licensed builder for all the work – and pay them.
For more information, check out the Ministry’s website here…
It is an offence for a residential property developer to:
The definition of earthquake-prone buildings has changed with the Building Act 2004 Section 122. The provisions apply to all buildings except those used wholly or mainly for residential purposes unless they are two or more stories high and contain three or more household units. The main changes from the Building Act 1991 are:
For more information visit the Building.govt.nz site here…
For inspiration check out our Design Guide (stories from our latest issued shown above) – Full of great information, insights and ideas for people designing their home; some of New Zealand’s leading architects and designers share their knowledge with you.
High density suburban house Wellington; architect: Gerald Parsonson; photo: Paul McCredie
