Territorial authority discretionary exemptions

Exemption (k) of Schedule 1

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

(k) any other building work in respect of which the territorial authority (or, as the case requires, the regional authority) considers that a building consent is not necessary for the purposes of this Act because that building work—

(i) is unlikely to be carried out otherwise than in accordance with the building code; or

(ii) if carried out otherwise than in accordance with the building code, is unlikely to endanger people or any building, whether on the same land or on other property.

Guidance

Exemption (k) allows a discretionary decision to made by a territorial authority (city or district council) or regional authority (regional council) to exempt proposed building work from the requirement to obtain a building consent in the circumstances specified in (i) and (ii), above.

Members of the public may ask their local council to consider their proposed building work under this exemption. However, the decision to allow any exemption under this part of Schedule 1 is totally at the council’s discretion, based on the risk of building work not complying with the Building Code or endangering people or property.

Local councils should have procedures for making formal decisions under exemption (k) to exempt building work, that meet the specific criteria of (i) and (ii) above, from the requirement to obtain a building consent.

In all cases, the Department recommends that the decision, reason for the decision and the outcome of the decision be recorded by the local council and placed on the property file that relates to the building work.