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Retaining walls

A retaining wall.

Exemption (c) of Schedule 1

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

(c) construction or alteration of any retaining wall that retains not more than 1.5 metres depth of ground and that does not support any surcharge or any load additional to the load of that ground (for example, the load of vehicles on a road).

Guidance

The purpose of this exemption is to allow a retaining wall (any wall constructed to retain or support the surrounding ground) as long as it does not retain more than 1.5 metres of ground.

This exemption does not apply to retaining walls that are subject to any additional load or surcharge, such as (but are not limited to):

  • vehicle driveways
  • parking spaces
  • building loads.

All building work including retaining walls must comply with the Building Code.

Examples where this exemption could apply Examples where building consent is required
  • The construction of a garden retaining wall that is less than 1.5 metres high and no surcharge affects the retaining wall.
  • An owner wishes to form a level platform for a garden below a neighbour’s driveway. To do this, the owner intends to construct a 700 mm high retaining wall. As the proposed retaining wall is subject to a surcharge (vehicle driveway), it will require a building consent.
  • An owner wishes to install a retaining wall. The height of the retaining wall ranges from 900 mm to 1.8 metres. This work will require a building consent, as part of the wall is over 1.5 metres high.