A Guide to Building and Building Consents - Palmerston North City ...

A Guide to Building and
Building Consents
June 2012

Introduction
This guide is designed to assist building owners to ensure that any work being planned on
their property is done properly and in accordance with the law. The guide provides answers to
commonly asked questions such as “what is building work?”, “do I need a Building Consent?”,
“what do I need to do to get a Building Consent?” and “What happens to my application?”
Building Work
Building work is governed and controlled by the Building Act 2004 and unless specifically
exempt (under the First Schedule of the Act) requires a Building Consent.
Building work is defined in the Building Act as:
“Work for, or in connection with, the construction, alteration, demolition, or removal of a building
and includes site work and building design…”
The definition also includes plumbing and drainage work.
The definition is very broad and therefore covers almost anything a homeowner could wish
to do.

Restricted Building Work
Residential building consent applications only
Restricted Building Work (RBW) means the design, construction or alteration to dwellings
and multi storey apartments in relation to the primary structure (eg, foundations, sub floor
framing, walls, beams, bracing, columns) and external moisture management systems (damp
proofing, wall and roof claddings) and fire safety systems (emergency warning, evacuation,
fire and smoke control systems).
Restricted Building work must be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner
(LBP).
Licence classes for licensed building practitioners.
License Class Area of practice What they can do Notes
Design Design 1 Design category 1
buildings.
Design 2 Design category 1 & 2
buildings
Design 3
Design category 1, 2 &
3 buildings
Site Site 1 Coordinate and
oversee construction
or alteration of
category 1 buildings
Site 2
Coordinate and
oversee construction
or alteration of
category 1, 2 & 3
buildings
Site 3
Manage some or all of
the construction or
alteration of category
1, 2 & 3 buildings
Carpentry
Carpenter on category
1,2 or 3 buildings
Chartered
Professional Engineers
and Registered
Architects are treated
as if they have a
design license in area
of practice 3. They
cannot be licensed.
Cannot supervise or
undertake Restricted
Building Work.
Chartered Professional
Engineers are treated
as if they are licensed in
site area of practice 3.
Carpentry LBPs can
also:
- Construct foundations
without a foundation
licence
- Install lightweight
profiled metal roofing
without a roofing
licence

License Class Area of practice What they can do Notes
Roofing
Concrete or clay tile
roof
Profiled metal roof
and/or wall cladding
Metal tile roof
Roof membrane
Torch on roof
membrane
Liquid membrane roof
Shingle or slate roof
Install roofs or roof
materials for category
1, 2 or 3 buildings in
the licensed area of
practice. Can apply
for one or more areas
of practice.
External plastering Solid plastering Apply external
Bricklaying and
blocklaying
Foundation
Proprietary plaster
cladding systems
Bricklaying and
blocklaying 1: brick &
masonry veneer
Bricklaying and
blocklaying 2:
Structural masonry
Concrete foundation
walls and concrete
slab on ground
Concrete or timber
pile foundation
solid plastering or
proprietary plaster
cladding systems to
category 1, 2 or 3
buildings. Can apply
for one or more areas
of practice.
Lay bricks or blocks
for category 1, 2 &
3 buildings in the
licensed area of
practice. Can apply for
one or both areas of
practice.
Construct or alter
foundations for
category 1 or 2
buildings in the
licensed area of
practice. Can apply
for one or both areas
of practice.
Building categories in Licensed Building Practitioner scheme
Licensed or certified
plumbers or gasfitters
are treated as if they
are licensed in the
license classes:
- Bricklaying and
blocklaying
- Roofing
- External plastering
Construction and
alteration of category
3 buildings falls under
a carpentry licence.
Building Category
Category 1
Category 2
Category3
Description
Single household dwellings with low or
medium risk envelope (risk score of 12 or less
for any elevation)
Single household dwellings with high risk
envelope design (risk score greater than 12
for any elevation) or any other buildings with a
building height less than 10m
All buildings 10m or greater in building height
except single household dwellings

A register of LBPs is available at www.dbh.govt.nz
WARNING: A person who is not licensed and carries out restricted building work and is
not supervised by a LBP licensed to carry out work of that kind commits an offence under
the Building Act 2004 and is liable of a maximum fine of $20,000.
A person who is a LBP who carries out restricted building work outside the scope of his/
her license commits an offence under the Building Act 2004 and is liable of a maximum fine
of $20,000.
Alterations to Existing Buildings
When altering an existing building the applicant must demonstrate that the building will
comply as is reasonably practicable with the building code relating to means of escape from
fire and access and facilities for persons with disabilities.
The applicant must also demonstrate that the building will continue to comply with the other
building code clauses to at least the same extent as before the alteration.
Change of Use
This section of the application is important both to the owner and to Council. Changing
the use of a building under the Building Act may have significant implications in terms of the
amount of work that might be required and consequently the cost to the owner. Change
of use is defined in the Building Regulations 2005 and is closely aligned with the purpose
groups set out in the Fire Safety Clauses (“C” documents) in the Building Code.
Exempt Building Work
Exempt building work is set out in Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004. Where proposed
work meets all the criteria in the schedule, it does not require Building Consent. Even
though building work may be exempt from Building Consent the work must be carried out
in accordance with the Building Code.
IMPORTANT: Some work, which may be exempt from Building Consent, may be subject
to planning requirements. For further information about planning requirements check with
your local Council’s Planning Department.
The Department of Building and Housing have produced a guidance document entitled ‘A
guide to building work that does not require a Building Consent’. This can be accessed
online http://www.dbh.govt.nz/publications-about-the-building-act-2004

An application for exempt building work is only required for work defined in schedule
1(k) where the “territorial authority” (or, as the case requires, the regional authority)
considers that a Building Consent is not necessary for the purposes of this Act because
that building work—(i) is unlikely to be carried out otherwise than in accordance with
the building code; or (ii) if carried out otherwise than in accordance with the building
code, is unlikely to endanger people or any building, whether on the same land or on
other property”. Applications for exempt building work defined in schedule 1(k) will be
recorded on the property file. Please note that Council will not record any
other exempt building work on the property file, unless requested to do
so. Records of exempt building work will be accepted by Council on the
prescribed form and placed on the property file as a public record only.
Council does not accept any responsiblity for checking or validating
these records, nor does it accept liability for the content.
Responsiblities under the Building Act 2004
The building owner must:
1. Obtain necessary consents, approvals and certificates
2. Ensure building work carried out complies with the building consent and building
code, if no consent is required
3. Comply with notices to fix
4. Provide the Building Consent Authority (BCA) with written notice of the name of
every LBP engaged to carry out or supervise the work under the building consent.
5. Advise the BCA if an LBP ceases to be engaged or another LBP is engaged to carry
out the work.
An Owner-builder (person who has a relevant interest in the land or building, resides or
intends to reside in the household unit to which the RBW relates and carries out the RBW
himself/herself or with assistance of his/her unpaid friends and family members) must:
1. Ensure restricted building work carried out under an owner-builder exemption
complies with the building consent.
2. Provide a statutory declaration in the prescribed form as to owner-builder status with
the building consent application.
3. Provide a notice in the prescribed form to the Building Consent authority if a statutory
declaration as to owner-builder status was not provided with the building consent application
or there is a change in the owner-builder carrying out the restricted building work.

An Owner-builder exemption means that an owner-builder may carry out restricted building
work without being supervised by a licensed building practitioner.
A designer (person who prepares plans and specifications for building work or who gives
advice on compliance with the building code) must:
1. Ensure that the plans and specifications are sufficient to result in building work complying
with the building code.
A Builder must:
1. Ensure that the building work complies with the building consent, plans and specifications.
2. Ensure that all building work complies with the building code where there is no consent.
A Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) carrying out or supervising restricted building work
must:
1. Ensure the work is carried out in accordance with the Act
2. Ensure that he/she is licensed to carry out the relevant class of restricted building work.
3. Not misrepresent his/her competence
4. Carry out or supervise building work only within his/her competence
5. Provide a record of work (in the prescribed form) to the owner and TA in respect of
the restricted building work he/she has carried out or supervised.
6. Notify the owner and TA of any known breaches of the Building Consent.
Any person can make a complaint to the Building Practitioners Board about a Licensed
Building Practitioner if:
1. An LBP has failed without good reason to provide the owner with a record of work
2. An LBP has breached the code of ethics prescribed under section 314A
3. An LBP has breached section 314B by misrepresenting his/her competence or carrying
out or supervising work outside his/her competence.
4. An LBP has conducted himself/herself in a manner that brings, or is likely to bring
the regime under this Act for Licensed Building Practitioners into disrepute.
For more information about lodging a complaint with the Building Practitioners Board please
visit www.dbh.govt.nz
Please refer to Commercial Applications booklet for more information relating to commercial
building consents.

Building Consents
A Building Consent is Councils’ written authority to carry out building work that it considers
will comply with the requirements set out in the Building Code provided it is completed in
accordance with the plans and specifications approved with the Building Consent application.
A Building Consent cannot be issued retrospectively. It is an offence to carry out
building work without consent in all but a few exceptional circumstances. These
circumstances, are set out in the Building Act. An example would be urgent building work
required for the purpose of saving or protecting life or health, or preventing serious damage
to property.
Planning Rules
Building work must comply with the Resource Management Act 1991, District Plan and One
Plan (Horizons Regional Council). In general, these rules govern such things as how close a
building can be built to a legal boundary, how much of an owners property can be covered
with building work and the number of dwellings that can be built on a single property.
Preparing an Application
An owner wishing to carry out building work must prepare a Building Consent application.
An application for Building Consent must include as a minimum:
• Application form completed in full
• Proof of ownership of the site (certificate of title, an unconditional sale and
purchase agreement where property has been recently purchased, letter from
a lawyer on letterhead stating detail of ownership) – Please note that rating
information is not sufficient
• 2 full sets of plans and specifications - including site plan, floor layout, cross sections,
elevations, details. Plans must be drawn to architectural standard, to scale and
include all dimensions
• Certificate of design work if Restricted Building Work (RBW)
• An Electronic copy of the plans and specifications including fire report will be
required if the application needs to be forwarded to the New Zealand Fire Service
Design Review Unit for comment.
• If applicable, structural details, calculations and producer statement

• If applicable, effluent disposal design and producer statement (Producer statements
must be issued by suitably qualified people to demonstrate compliance with the
building code and specified standards)
• Fees (a Fees and Charges pamphlet is available at the Customer Service Centre
and on-line).
Where cable cars are proposed for dwellings, details relating to the performance requirements,
standards and maintenance must be provided. A compliance schedule will be issued with the
Code Compliance Certificate. The owner will be responsible for carrying out the maintenance
and reporting for the cable car in accordance with the compliance schedule.
A well-prepared, thorough and detailed application with good quality plans
and specifications will reduce the processing cost of the consent.
Application Forms
Building Consent/PIM Application forms are available from the Palmerston North City Council
or Manawatu District Council or they can be downloaded from the PNCC web site at
www.pncc.govt.nz or the MDC web site at www.mdc.govt.nz.
Applying for a PIM
A project information memorandum (PIM) includes any information held by Council that
may affect the proposed building project. Early knowledge of this information can assist the
applicant in planning and designing their project
You can apply for a PIM before or at the same time as your Building Consent.
It is no longer mandatory (with effect 1st February 2010) to obtain a PIM when applying for
Building Consent. However, this information still needs to be checked by officers as part of
the Building Consent processing and is incorporated into the processing time.
To apply for a PIM the owner does not need to provide the level of documentation required
for a Building Consent, but must provide sufficient information so that Council can fully
assess the project.
The following is a guide to the minimum information that must be included with a PIM
application. More information may be requested:
• The application form completed in full

• The intended use of the proposed building
• A site plan identifying the location and external dimensions of the proposed building,
floor plan with rooms identified and elevations
• Demonstrate access for vehicles
• Demonstrate disposal of stormwater and waste water
• Precautions to be taken if building work is to be carried out over any existing drains or
sewers, or in close proximity to wells or water mains.
• Fees (a fees and charges pamphlet is available at the customer service centre or online)
The Building Consent Application Process
When an application is submitted to Council it is vetted by a Building Officer. This initial check
is to ensure that all of the information required to begin the process has been submitted.
This is done in an effort to avoid delays and extra costs.
A Planning Officer also assesses the application for information required to ensure
compliance with the District Plan.
Please note that at this point the application is not being assessed for compliance, but
simply to ensure that sufficient information has been provided to begin the processing
of the application.
Fees
Fees apply to all applications. Once the application has been vetted by a Building Officer, a
fee is required before Council can accept the application.
Certain types of consents have set fees. These are for simple, less expensive projects.
Other consents require a deposit upon application. The balance of fees must be paid when
the Building Consent is issued. The fees will include mandatory building inspections, Code
Compliance Certificate, scanning, processing time and building levies where applicable. More
complicated applications may also have other fees associated with them.
Only in circumstances where prior invoicing arrangements have been agreed with Council,
will it be possible for the fees to be paid after issue. Full details of any arrangements made
must be stated on the Building Consent application form. Please refer to PNCC or MDC
Building Services Fees and Charges for further information.

Loading the Application in Our System
Once your application has been accepted, it will be loaded into our system and be assigned
a unique Building Consent number. You will need to quote this number whenever you make
an inquiry or submit further information to Council.
The Building Act 2004 allows up to 20 working days to process an application and the “clock”
starts when the application is loaded onto our system.
Processing the Application for Compliance
The application will be assessed by suitably qualified officers to ensure compliance with the
Building Act 2004, Building Code, District Plan and any relevant legislative requirements.
Your application may be assessed by various departments, including Building, Planning, Plumbing
and Drainage, Structural and any other relevant departments.
Further Information Required
The Building Act 2004 states that a Building Consent must be granted if the Building Consent
Authority:
‘....is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the provisions of the Building Code would be
met if….the building work is done in accordance with the plans and specifications that
accompanied the application.”
Each technical officer may identify the need for further information. This may be because
the information provided does not meet the requirements of the New Zealand Building
Code, or the information does not sufficiently demonstrate how compliance will be achieved.
If an officer requires further information the application will be suspended, the “clock” will
stop and the first point of contact specified on the application form, will be advised of the
information required to continue processing.
An application that has been suspended for further information will continue through the
process as far as possible until the information is provided, however, the period that the
application is suspended will not be counted in the 20 working day timeframe.
When all requested information is provided, the application will be re-assessed. The suspension
can only be lifted when all the information is received and correct. The “clock” will restart
when the suspension is lifted.

When the processing of the Building Consent is complete, the consent is ‘granted’ and the
person specified on the application form will be notified. Following payment of any outstanding
fees, the Building Consent is ‘issued’ and building work may begin unless the consent has
been issued with a’ Building Consent restriction’ under the Resource Management Act 1991.
In this instance, work is not permitted to commence until the restriction has been lifted by
Council. The owner/agent will be advised in writing and work may commence at this stage.
Beginning Work
The Building Consent documents include stamped approved plans and specifications (site
copies), the Building Consent and any attached forms where applicable, an application for
Code Compliance Certificate form and information booklets.
IMPORTANT: you must read all documents provided with the issued Building Consent
thoroughly before work commences. A Code Compliance Certificate will only be issued when
building work has been completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications.
The Building Consent will advise you of:
• Any conditions or endorsements. These are important as they may require some
form of action, for example engineer checking of foundations or provision of
Producer Statements.
• A number of mandatory inspections required.
• Attached compliance schedule and statement if a cable car is included in the project.
• Any other information or action that you must comply with.
Failure to comply with any of the conditions or inspections specified will contravene the
Building Act 2004. This would also jeopardise the issue of the Code Compliance Certificate
following completion of the building work.
Building Inspections
A building inspection can be booked during normal working hours by phoning Palmerston
North City Council or Manawatu District Council to arrange a time. Please have the Building
Consent number ready and contact details of the person who will be on site at the time
of the inspection. There may be some delay when booking an inspection so plan to allow a
minimum of 48 hours before an inspection is required.
Inspections cannot be booked until the Building Consent has been issued.

Time Frames
Building work in conjunction with a Building Consent:
• Must commence within 12 months after the date of issue of the Building Consent
or the owner must apply in writing for an extension of time. If no work has
commenced after 12 months and no extension of time granted the consent will
automatically lapse and will be of no effect.
• Must be completed within 2 years after the granted date of the Building Consent or
the owner must apply in writing for an extension of time.
Council will confirm agreed extensions of time in writing.
Beginning Work
A building owner must apply for a Code Compliance Certificate as soon as possible following
completion of all building work and inspections in accordance with the consent and within
two years after the date of granting of the Building Consent, or apply in writing for an
extension as stated. This may be done by the builder on the owners’ behalf but this remains
the responsibility of the owner.
An application form for the Code Compliance Certificate will be provided with the Building
Consent documentation. Copies of the form are also available on the Palmerston North
City Council and Manawatu District Council websites and at the Customer Service Centre.
The form must be completed in full and provided to the Council together with any other
necessary documentation (for example electrical certificates, warranties, etc) identified on
the Building Consent.
Issuing a Code Compliance Certificate
Council has 20 working days to issue a Code Compliance Certificate. The Code Compliance
Certificate will only be issued when Council is satisfied that the building work has been
completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications and on payment of all
charges by the BCA and TA including development contributions.
Building Consents issued under the Building Act 1991 – Council may issue Code Compliance
certificates only if Council is satisfied that the building work concerned complies with the
building code that applied at the time the Building Consent was granted.

Amendments
An amendment to the Building Consent is:
• where a change is made to the plans and specifications without prior approval or
assessment by PNCC or;
• any change to the approved plans and specifications that were identified and assessed
by a Building Officer during an inspection and found to be of such a significant
nature that approval cannot be given immediately. Therefore, an application for
amendment to the Building Consent must be submitted and processed.
An example of an amendment may be:
• the removal, alteration or addition of a wall or walls that now means the building
layout differs from the approved fire analysis.
• addition of a room in the roof space where the foot print of the building doesn’t
change.
• installation of a new or additional window in a wall within a ‘Yard’ which requires an
Instant Resource Consent and neighbour’s consent, plus lintel and weatherproofing
details.
• change in the cladding system which in turn would require a full set of
weatherproofing details and possibly bracing recalculated.
• change of a roof cladding which in turn may require amended flashing details and
possibly bracing recalculated.
• Any increase in the approved footprint of the building, which may conflict with the
conditions of a Resource Consent or may now require Resource Consent.
An amendment to a Building Consent must be submitted to Council and must be granted
in writing by Council before any work relating to the amendment can commence.
Amendment to Building Consent Application Forms can be obtained from the customer
service centres or downloaded from the websites.

If you have any questions or require further
information please contact:
Palmerston North City Council
Phone 06 356 8199 or visit www.pncc.govt.nz
Manawatu District Council
Phone 06 323 0000 or visit www.mdc.govt.nz
General information can be obtained from
Department of Building and Housing – www.dbh.govt.nz
PRINT SYNERGY - JUNE 2012