Skip to content.
Return to Department of Building and Housing home page.

Platforms (decks)

Platform.

Exemption (g) of Schedule 1

A building consent is not required for the following building work:

(g) the construction or alteration of any platform, bridge, or the like from which it is not possible for a person to fall more than 1 metre even if it collapses.

Guidance

A building consent is not required for decks, balconies, platforms and bridges, and similar structures where it is not possible to fall more than 1 metre.

Examples where this exemption could apply Examples where building consent is required
  • A low-level deck is constructed to create level entry to a dwelling. The deck has a maximum height above ground level of 970 mm.
  • A building owner constructs a 50 square metre deck that is attached to two sides of a building. If it were to collapse, the fall would be no greater than 400 mm.
  • A proposed platform is to be constructed in conjunction with other landscaping work on site. The landscaping work will result in a reduced ground level at the rear exit of the building. As a result, the proposed platform will have a finished height above ground of 1.2 metres and will require a building consent.


Deck.