Building

You are here > Home > A-Z of Council Services > Building > When is a Building Consent Required?

When is a Building Consent Required?

Building Overview | Building Consents | Building Inspections/Code Compliance | What is a Development Contribution? | Land Use Resource Consents | Related Approvals | Building Near Public Pipes and Drains | Fencing Swimming Pools | Relocating Buildings | Residential Wood Fires | How Building Charges are Determined?

The summary of the first schedule of the Building Act 2004 below lists what building work can proceed without first obtaining a building consent. Don’t guess whether building work requires a consent or not. Illegal building work is just not worth it. It may invalidate your insurance cover and put your family’s safety at risk.

Activity	Building consent required	No building consent required
Plumbing	Any new plumbing work, including drainage. Change in water supply system.	Front of wall (if you have to go into the wall you will probably need a building consent) or like-for-like work (replacement with the same product e.g. replacing a bath with a bath, but not replacing a bath with a shower) undertaken by a craftsman plumber.
Homes	Any new dwelling, additions or alterations. Changing the use of a building (e.g. a garage to sleepout, a deck to  onservatory or a carport to garage). Recladding with different materials and/or method. Removal or construction of internal walls, even those that are not load bearing.	Recladding with the same materials and/or method.
Dams and culverts		Contact Taranaki Regional Council (06-765 7127) if you intend to build a dam or culvert and read the Stream crossings brochure (Two pages 2MB PDF).
Retaining walls	Retains more than 1.5m depth of ground. Retains a load in addition to the load of the ground (i.e. the weight of vehicles).	Retains 1.5m or less and does not support any load additional to that of the ground.
Freestanding walls and fences	More than 2m in height. Forming part of a swimming pool fence.	Less than 2m in height.
Pools	All in ground pools. Non propriety pools supported by solid ground.	Spa pools (portable or fixed), inflatable pools and above ground propriety pools supported by solid ground should not require BC but will be assessed on a case by case basis. Pool proposals must be registered and approved prior to the pool being constructed or placed on site.
Tanks	All tanks other than those listed in the column to the right.	Tanks up to 35,000 litre capacity on the ground. Tanks up to 2,000 litre capacity above the ground. Tanks up to 500 litres capacity, 4m or less above the ground.
Tents and marquees	Floor area larger than 30m2 or tent/marquee in place for longer than one month.	Floor area 30m2 or less and tent/marquee is in place for no longer than one month.
Platforms, decks and bridges	Higher than 1m from the ground (if over water, ‘ground’ means the bed of the water body).	Where it is not possible for a person to fall more than 1m, even if the structure collapses.
Sheds and outbuildings	If any conditions in the column to the right are not met. If the building is designed to contain hazardous substances	If the building: Has a floor area of 10m2 or less. Is single-storied. Contains no sleeping accommodation or sanitary facilities. Is at least its own height away from a residential building or boundary.
Closing in existing veranda or patio to make a porch	Floor area larger than 5m2.	Floor area of 5m2 or less.
Fireplaces and heaters	All solid and liquid fuel burners such as wood and diesel burners.	Permanently fixed gas heaters (must be certified by a registered gas fitter). Fixed electric heaters (must be certified by a registered electrician).
Earthworks (excavation and fill)	Site works associated with building work. Earthworks associated with retaining walls that retain more than 1.5m depth of ground.	Resource consent may be required. Speak to a council planner before conducting earthworks.
Lifts, cable cars, travelators and escalators	Install, remove or alter any lift, cable car, escalator, travelator or any other compliance schedule item.

Return to top

Exemptions

If you wish to clarify whether a project fits within the first schedule please talk to one of our council building officers. If a building consent is not required for building works you may wish to register your project with us anyway. Reasons for registering building work exempt under the first schedule include:

• You can be certain that your proposed work falls within the scope of the first schedule (and a building consent is not required).
• It is a means of providing a report on file for future reference and property enquiries. (This may be useful when you sell your house.)
• You may receive advice on how to comply with the Building Code.

Exempt works must still comply with the New Zealand Building Code.

Related links

• Building Act (on New Zealand Legislation website)
• Building formsReturn to top