Information about fees and charges for building consent services and paying for them.

The fees for building consent services are set out in the Building Consents Fee Schedule. All charges include GST unless otherwise stated. Some fees are fixed and other fees are not fixed. 

An additional fixed fee for scanning will be charged for hard copy applications. To avoid scanning fees and minimise application processing times we recommend you use our Online Services.

When applying for a consent the costs/charges may vary depending on the time a building consent officer or planner spends processing your consent. If you need to provide further information this could also impact on these costs and delay issuing of a consent.

You can view a list of all building consent forms and guides. 

Other fees

Your building or planning project may also be subject to fees for consents or services provided by other Council units.

Guide to building consent fees and charges

These figures represent history of consent processing charges for 2018/19 financial year ending 30th June 2019, and also include levies collected for Building Research and Building (MBIE). They should be viewed as a guide only to likely fees. Please click on the above heading to view in more detail.

Type Estimated Project Value Total Consent Fees (inc. GST)
    Consent Count Average  80% of fees fell within the following range
Residential accessory building (habitable)
Sleepouts etc.

1. $0 to $19,999

No consents received

-

-

2. $20,000 to $100,000

8

$4,825

$3,155 to $7,455

3. Over $100,000 to $300,000

Sample too small

-

-

4. Over $300,000 to $500,000

No consents received

-

-

5. Over $500,000

Sample too small

-

-
Residential accessory building (non-habitable)
Garages, Carports etc.

1. $0 to $19,999

Sample too small

-

-

2. $20,000 to $100,000

70

$3,476

$2,205 to $5,354

3. Over $100,000 to $300,000

12

$4,580

$3,225 to $6,440

4. Over $300,000 to $500,000

Sample too small

-

-

5. Over $500,000

No consents received

-

-
Residential dwelling detached    

1. $0 to $19,999

Sample too small

-

-

2. $20,000 to $100,000

32

$4,713

$3,099 to $6,246

3. Over $100,000 to $300,000

239

$6,465

$4,735 to $8,225

4. Over $300,000 to $500,000

444

$7,489

$5,998 to $9,395

5. Over $500,000

352

$11,001

$7,742 to $14,631
Residential external alterations and additions

1. $0 to $19,999

49

$2,513

$1,784 to $3,809

2. $20,000 to $100,000

287

$3,851

$2,322 to $5,840

3. Over $100,000 to $300,000

231

$5,417

$3,280 to $8,123

4. Over $300,000 to $500,000

52

$7,679

$4,689 to $10,628

5. Over $500,000

40

$10,537

$6,794 to $14,320
Residential internal alterations only

1. $0 to $19,999

21

$1,969

$1,369 to $2,291

2. $20,000 to $100,000

33

$2,300

$1,645 to $2,614

3. Over $100,000 to $300,000

Sample too small

-

-

4. Over $300,000 to $500,000

No consents received

-

-

5. Over $500,000

No consents received

-

-
Residential multi-unit dwelling

1. $0 to $19,999

No consents received

- 

-

2. $20,000 to $100,000

Sample too small

 -

-

3. Over $100,000 to $500,000

41

$9,389

$4,724 to $13,480

4. Over $500,000 to $1,000,000

81

$12,963

$8,700 to $18,183

5. Over $1,000,000

79

$27,139

$13,639 to $54,684
Residential plumbing and drainage

1. $0 to $19,999

9

$2,394

$1,647 to $3,224

2. $20,000 to $100,000

Sample too small

-

-

3. Over $100,000 to $300,000

Sample too small

-

-

4. Over $300,000 to $500,000

No consents received

-

-

5. Over $500,000

Sample too small

-

-

Note:

  • ‘No consents received’ is when there were no consents received in the last financial year
  • 'Sample too small' is when there are six or less building consents in the last financial year 

Consents will cost more when:   

  • there are more requests for information (RFI's);
  • the value of the building work is higher;
  • the land is TC3 category;
  • the building is on a hill site;
  • the land has natural hazardous conditions (e.g. flood management area, rockfall, etc.);
  • the consent contains more than one building (e.g.an outbuilding, family flat etc.);
  • due to the complexity of the build, additional inspections may be required;
  • the consent requires specialist review (e.g. structural, geo-tech or fire engineer, etc);
  • the consent is for a 'multi-unit' building; and
  • the design is more complex (e.g. multiple storey's, more than two claddings, featuring alternative solutions, etc.).

Disclaimer:  The Christchurch City Council is not able to provide you at lodgement of your application with the total consent fee for your project.  This fee is finalised only at the end of your project.  Therefore, the information provided in this Guide is intended for your general use and information purposes only.  The fees shown are from all building consent fees charged within the 2018/19 financial year for different project categories and project value ranges.  The highest fee charged for a project category is indicative only.  The Christchurch City Council accepts no liability for your reliance on this Guide.

Paying by internet banking

You can use internet banking to pay building consent fees. Payments are credited to our account on the next business day.

Bank: Bank of New Zealand
Account Name: Christchurch City Council
Account Number: 02 0800 0044765 03

To avoid processing delays, make sure you include all of the following fields in the payment details:

Particulars/Code/Reference: (please refer to your invoice for these details)

Pay over the phone (24 hours a day)

You can pay over the phone using any major credit card. Call the Customer Call Centre on 0800 800 169. 

If you are worried about your payments or think you might miss a payment, talk to us, we can help.