Important notice: changes to Building Act, from 1 March 2012
From 1 March 2012 new rules under the Building Act 2004 mean that building work affecting structure or weathertightness of a residential building is now ‘restricted’ and can only be done and/or supervised by licensed building practitioners (LBPs).
Note: If your building plans need building consent from your Council, it will be Restricted Building Work. For more information visit Department of Building & Housing's Build It Right site.
After March 1, your building consent application must include the registration numbers of the LBPs involved in your project.
• First up, your designer MUST be an LBP, and must include a memorandum certifying that the design work complies with the Building Code. You can download the LBP Certificate of Design Work form from this DBH page.
• Each licensed building practitioner who is subsequently involved in the project (e.g. foundation specialist, carpenter, bricklayer, external plasterer and roofer) must provide their LBP number and a Record of Work to the Council, before a Code Compliance Certificate can be issued. The Record of Work form can be found here.
To check whether your tradesmen are licensed building practitioners, go to DBH's Licensed Building Practitioners page.
Handy tip: To avoid delays in processing your consent, be sure to include the required LBP certification— especially the LBP Designer certification, which is required up front. The details of other LBPs can be added as they are engaged to do the work, if you do not know them at the time of application.
Building consent
We can provide you with information on when you will require building consent, how to apply and the individual application packs for specific works.
A building consent is the formal approval issued by a Building Consent Authority (BCA) to ensure certain works meet the requirements of the Building Act 2004, Building Regulations and New Zealand Building Code.
You cannot undertake any building work that requires a building consent without this approval first.
When a building consent is required
The following are examples of work requiring a building consent:
When a building consent is not required
Schedule 1 of the Building Act lists work that does not need a building consent for low risk and minor works.
Work that is exempt under this initiative will still be required to meet building requirements to ensure it is safe and fit for purpose.
Even though work may be exempt from requiring building consent approval, all work must still comply with District Plan controls and resource consent approval should be obtained where necessary.
Exempt work (with examples) is listed under the Department of Building and Housing’s Publication Building work that does not require a building consent [PDF 1.36MB].
Why you need a building consent
The Building Act 2004 provides for the regulation of building work, the establishment of a licensing regime for building practitioners and the setting of performance standards to ensure that:
- People who use buildings can do so safely and without endangering their health.
- Buildings have attributes that contribute appropriately to the health, physical independence, and wellbeing of the people who use them.
- People who use a building can escape from the building if it is on fire.
- Buildings are designed, constructed, and able to be used in ways that promote sustainable development.
To achieve this purpose the Building Act 2004 requires anyone proposing to do building work to obtain a Project Information Memoranda (PIM) and a building consent from a Building Consent Authority before commencing building work.
The Department of Building and Housing (DBH) is the government department responsible for administering the Building Act 2004.
Who can issue you a building consent
Building Consent Authorities (BCA's) are regional or territorial authorities or private organisations registered under section 273 of the Building Act 2004 and are responsible for performing building control functions under Part 2 of the Act.
Christchurch City Council in its role as a BCA can issue any application for building consents within the Christchurch City district. The Council, as a BCA, recognises its obligation for timely and efficient processing of consents and from time to time engages private providers to assist with its workload.
What to do before applying for building consent
You need to be aware that building consents are subject to other authorisations. When you build you must always comply with your city or district rules, in this case the bylaws of the City Plan.
We address this through the issue of a Project Information Memoranda (PIM) if you specifically request one, however these are now optional. If you do not request a PIM and have not fully researched the project prior to making your application for building consent, you may find that your consent is granted but with restrictions on what work you can actually carry out.
Scanning documents fees
From 14 February 2011 new fees will be in place for the scanning of documents supporting your consent application. You can avoid these fees by scanning them yourself and submitting them electronically. Read more »
Contact us
If you have any queries about how to apply for building consent, contact our Customer Centre in the first instance. If you want to discuss technical matters with a Consent Officer you may book a pre-application meeting (please note charges apply).
Phone: (03) 941 8999
Email: info@ccc.govt.nz
