Building Consents Overview

A building consent is the formal approval confirming that the proposed building work, based on the plans and documentation provided, complies with the New Zealand Building Code, Building Act and Building Regulations. It is needed to ensure that buildings are safe and sanitary, and that occupiers have a means of escape from fire.

No building work that requires a building consent can start until a building consent has been issued and other requirements (such as resource consent) have been met. A building consent cannot be issued retrospectively; to be clear, building work must not commence until a building consent has been issued.

A building consent does not permit the construction, alteration, demolition or removal of buildings if that building work would be in breach of any other Acts, regulations or bylaws.

From 31 March 2005, regulations came into effect under the Building Act 2004 that impact on building consents in the following ways:

• A building consent can be cancelled if work has not commenced within 12 months of the date the consent was issued.
• The legislation allows 24 months to finish a project and to apply for a Code Compliance Certificate from the date the building consent has been granted.
• A Code Compliance Certificate will be issued against the original building consent. This means that if you want to introduce changes from what was originally intended, you will need to apply for a building consent amendment or a new building consent. If you do not apply for an amendment, these changes will be regarded as unconsented and the Code Compliance Certificate may not be issued.

This means that people undertaking building or renovation work need to plan well. You need to be sure that you will be starting the work within twelve months of the consent being issued and that you can finish the work that the consent relates to within 24 months of the consent being granted.

Building consents do not give any form of planning approval under the Council's District Plan. If you are planning to undertake any building work it is your responsibility to find out whether your proposal complies with the District Plan by contacting us or your own planning advisor. If it does not, and resource consent is required, you are strongly advised to obtain this before seeking a building consent to avoid expensive changes to your proposal.

Natural hazards

Building projects on properties which have known hazards, such as coastal erosion, flooding or instability, may need special consideration. Also, some properties containing protected buildings or subject to special height controls will have extra conditions on development. Refer to the ‘Natural Hazards' section for further information.

Do I need a building consent?

For most building, plumbing and drainage work a building consent is required. Works exempt from a building consent tend to be of a small scale, being within certain dimensions and volume limitations. A summary of Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004 outlines what building work can proceed without a building consent.

Before starting any building work, we recommend you bring in a copy of your draft proposal to Council and discuss it with the duty Building and Planning Officers. It is important to check the full schedule to see whether consent is required or not. Refer to the ‘When is a Building Consent Required?' section.

What is a Project Information Memorandum (PIM)?

When considering a building consent application, Council must consider aspects of the property that could have some effect on the way the work is carried out. This information is contained in a Project Information Memorandum (PIM). A PIM is a Council report that is required by the Building Act as part of the building consent process. PIMs provide information about land and the requirements of other Acts that might be relevant to proposed building work.

A PIM provides:

• Heritage status and special features such as natural hazards.
• Details of water, stormwater or wastewater utility systems which relate to your proposed building work or to your building site.
• Network utility information such as vehicle access.
• Applications/approvals that you may need before you can start the construction process, occupy the building or start commercial operations.
• A certificate detailing Resource Management Act requirements.

The PIM either confirms that subject to the requirements of the building consent and all other necessary authorisations being obtained, you will be able to carry out the building work, or it gives you notification that building work may not be undertaken.

When to apply for a PIM

Each building consent application must include a PIM. You can choose to apply for a PIM before lodging a building consent application so that you can anticipate any potential issues or you can apply for the PIM when you submit your building consent application.

For larger projects - such as new houses, large alterations and new commercial or industrial buildings - you will find a PIM very useful in establishing the feasibility and design of the project. Therefore, it's a good idea to obtain a PIM in the planning stages of larger projects. For smaller works you may wish to apply for the PIM with your building consent application - this may save time and money.

How to apply for a PIM

To apply for a PIM, you must complete a Building Consent application form, however it is important that you specify that you want a PIM ONLY. Submit the completed application form, accompanied by one set of plans and specifications for the proposed work and a deposit to level 2, 207 Lyndon Road East, Hastings. Council have 10 days to request additional information; the PIM must be issued within 10 days of receiving this information.

• Building Consent application pack (PDF 1MB) (DOC 6MB)

Lodging the building consent application

Building consent process flowchart(PDF 242kB)

Use the Building Consent application form (hard copies are available from the second floor of Council offices). The form is to be completed by the property owner or their authorised agent, i.e. architect, engineer, draughtsman or builder.

Submit the completed application forms, accompanied by one set of plans and specifications and a completed application checklist for the PlanSmart assessment. Lodgement may be made by one of the following methods:

• Phone us on 871 5000 to make an appointment with the Pre-lodgement Building Officer, to lodge your application.
• Drop the application at our reception desk on level 2, 207 Lyndon Road East, Hastings. These applications will be handled in the same way as mail applications.
• Mail the application to the Building Team, Hastings District Council, Private Bag 9002, Hastings 4156. We aim to assess mail applications within two days of receipt.
• Building Consent application pack (PDF 1MB) (DOC 6MB)

PlanSmart

It is compulsory for all building consent applications (except those that are exempt: solid fuel heaters, solar heaters and demolitions) to go through a pre-lodgement assessment process. This process is called ‘PlanSmart'.

A PlanSmart assessment can be carried out as either a face to face pre-arranged meeting between the applicant/agent, the Pre-lodgement Building Officer and a Planning Officer; or on consents received by post and over the counter, as a desk top review by the Pre-lodgement Building and Planning Officers.

PlanSmart meeting

Although the PlanSmart meeting is not mandatory, it is encouraged as it ensures the applicant is advised immediately of any additional information needed to enable the building consent to be lodged and to enable prompt processing of the consent without time consuming and inefficient suspensions.

PlanSmart meetings shall be scheduled within 24 hours of being requested and Council shall provide the resources to substantially meet this service level. All PlanSmart meeting assessments receive priority over drop off and posted applications.

The PlanSmart assessment

The assessment itself involves reviewing the consent documentation against a standardised checklist which has been completed by the applicant/agent as part of the application process. If the Pre-lodgement Building or Planning Officers identify any omissions in the consent documentation, they will highlight this on the checklist and return the full application to the applicant.

This will occur either at the end of the meeting or by post, depending on how the application was received. The applicant will be instructed to re-submit the consent once all of the required information has been sourced.

This process ensures that no consents are lodged until all critical information is present and complete and that the application includes good quality plans, specifications and any other relevant documentation such as fire reports or specific design details that will enable prompt processing with minimal suspensions.

This process also improves consistency and gives all parties a greater understanding of the expected requirements/outcomes of the building consent process at a very early stage, thus enabling major problems to be recognised and addressed prior to the full technical review.

It is important to remember that this initial check is with regard to content of the application only. A more detailed check or technical assessment of the information supplied is completed by a Building Officer after the consent has been accepted and lodged.

Examples of why your application may be returned to you after a PlanSmart review:

Building

1. Incomplete application form.
2. Inadequate plans (all plans are required to be to scale, in black ink, no graph paper, etc.).
3. Plans have insufficient detail (e.g. Foundation details not shown, cross sections have insufficient detail, flashings are missing etc.).
4. Bracing calculations or layout has been omitted.
5. A roof truss design certificate, layout and fixing details from a registered truss designer have not been included.
6. Engineer's calculations/details for specific design components are missing.
7. An energy efficiency report identifying the insulation requirements of the building envelope with respect to roof, wall, glazing and floor has not been included.
8. A current, relevant, trade specific specification has not been included.

Planning

1. All boundaries are not shown.
2. Street frontage is not identified.
3. Distances from the proposed building to a minimum of two boundaries have not been shown.
4. Site area and coverage details have not been identified.
5. Site recession planes are not shown on the plans.

Payment

Building consent fees will be assessed when the consent is processed and will include payment for the estimated number of inspections required for your project. The fee schedule is available.

• Fees and Charges Schedule

If the value of your application is over $20,000 your fees will include levies which Council is required to collect on behalf of the Department of Building and Housing (DBH) and the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ).

Entering the application in our system

Once the building consent is received and accepted at PlanSmart, your application will be given a unique (ABA) number and entered into our processing system. Each ABA number begins with the year, followed by a four digit sequential number. You should quote this number whenever you contact Council about your building consent application. Your application will be linked to the records for the property.

It may take up to 20 working days to process an application. The processing ‘clock' starts when the consent is accepted, however it may be stopped or ‘suspended' when staff are waiting for additional information.

Processing the application for compliance with the Building Act, Building Code, District Plan and/or other required permissions.

Building Officers will evaluate the various aspects of your building consent application to ensure it meets the requirements of the Building Act and the Building Code. Your application may be assessed by a number of Officers with specialist skills and knowledge. These may include assessment for building, plumbing and drainage, structural and geotechnical elements, resource management and fire design.

There is a requirement for some applications to be sent to the Design Review Unit, NZ Fire Services Commission (DRU). There will be additional fees to pay if your application needs to be sent to the DRU.

Suspending an application

If we find your application does not contain all the necessary or correct details to allow us to make a proper evaluation of the proposed work, an Officer will contact you for the information needed and your application will be temporarily suspended. The ‘clock' stops when the information is requested and restarts upon receipt of the required information.

The Building Act requires us to process your application within 20 working days from the time your application is accepted. However, if your application is suspended because of a lack of supporting information, the period of suspension is not counted as part of the 20 days. Therefore it is important that you fully and accurately complete the application form and attach all information at the outset to avoid the possibility of delays during the process.

Should your application be suspended, it is recommended that you compile all the requested information and supply as one complete set of documents, marked to the attention of the requesting Officer. If information is supplied in parts, this may increase costs and cause delays in the processing of the application. Council requests that you always quote the ABA number when supplying information or communicating with Council staff about your building project. Remember that additional information may be required on receipt of your information.

Checking resource consent requirements and other permissions

The work for which you are seeking consent is checked for other required permissions for example Resource Management Act or District Plan requirements. Land use consent is required where all or part of the proposed building activity does not fully comply with the relevant rules in the District Plan.

Subdivision consent is required to legally divide land or buildings for separate ownership, such as new lots or sections. In either of these cases, if you have not already applied for and been granted a resource consent, we will advise that you need to do so. Resource consent must be obtained before the building work can start.

The District Plan rules are available on our website or from the Council building or the Hastings district libraries.
We also check for compliance with the Council's bylaws and other legislation such as vehicle access, earthworks, water reticulation, public drainage and, in the case of commercial premises, areas such as health, trade waste, building warrant of fitness and backflow prevention.

Reasons for delays to your application

There are a number of possible causes for delays to your application:

• An incomplete application.
• The need to supply amended information for your application.
• Resource consent is required.
• The chance of delays occurring is significantly lessened if you thoroughly check your application before it is submitted. If there are any areas that you are unsure about, Council recommend that you seek input from a professional.

Can I change the plans once my building consent has been lodged?

You are able to change your plans at any stage of the process, however any changes have to be processed to check compliance and this may slow your application down. New projects may not be added to your consent once submitted - only minor changes to the original plans. Another building consent is required for additional projects.
For a consent that has already been granted, the Amendment application form must be completed for all proposed changes. Amendments will add to overall processing costs.

• Building Consent Amendment Application (PDF 50kB) (DOC 970kB)
• Building Consents - Amendment fact sheet (PDF 117kB)

Approving the application

Once your application has been assessed as conforming to all the required criteria, it will be granted. Once all necessary fees have been paid, the building consent and/or Project Information Memorandum will be issued.

What happens then?

Once your building consent is issued and you have obtained any other approvals required, such as resource consent, you may commence work on your building project.

It is very important that you (and your contractor(s)) read the building consent documentation to ensure you are clear about the requirements. It will contain a list of inspections required to be made by Council Officers during the building process and a list of Producer Statements required from specialists.

The identified specialists will be required to provide documentation of the work or inspections they undertake in support of their Producer Statement. Council will only accept Producer Statements from authors registered with us (refer to the Producer Statements section for further information).

Work must start on your project within 12 months after the date the consent was issued. We will send you a letter before 12 months reminding you that work must be started and asking if you intend to proceed with the work, if we have not been called for inspections before this time.

You may decide that you will not do the work, in which case the consent will be cancelled, or you may apply for an extension of time to start the work. An extension of time to start work must be made in writing and may be granted in some circumstances after an Officer has reviewed the building consent file.

Council will grant a maximum of six months unless there is specific reason to grant a further period. If we do not hear from you within the stated time, or an extension of time to start is refused, the consent will be lapsed. A new consent would have to be applied for and issued before any work could be carried out.

Determinations

Whether or not we approve your building consent application is dependent upon how well the application conforms to the functional and performance requirements of the Building Code or regulations and with the purposes and principles of the Building Act.

If you disagree with us over some aspect of your building proposal or a decision Council has made, you can apply to the Department of Building and Housing (DBH) for a determination.

The Department will then make a ruling on matters within its jurisdiction (refer to Section 177 of the Building Act 2004 for a complete list of matters falling under the Department's jurisdiction). There is a charge for the service.

Department of Building and Housing
PO Box 10 729
Wellington
Phone: 04 494 0260, 0800 242 243
Fax: 04 494 0290
Email: info@dbh.govt.nz
Website: www.dbh.govt.nz

Refer to the Building Consent Fact Sheets for further information.

• Building Consents - The Process fact sheet (PDF 61kB)
• Building Consents - Requirements fact sheet (PDF 60kB)