Restricted Building Work is work which is critical to the integrity of a building. It makes sure the building is structurally sound and weathertight, that’s why it can only be done or supervised by tradespeople who are Licensed Building Practitioners. Having Restricted Building Work regulations makes sure that your family home, often a New Zealander’s biggest asset, is protected.

Your Designer must identify all the Restricted Building Work on your job when they fill in their Certificate of Work. They’ll do this when they draw up your building plans.

It's important to know that a lot of work that requires a Building Consent will include Restricted Building work, but not all. If the work to your home does not include work to the primary structure or its weathertightness, then it is likely to not be Restricted Building Work. Below are a few examples of building work that require a building consent, but don’t necessarily contain Restricted Building Work:

• Fitting new sanitary fixtures where there were not any previously (e.g new kitchen or ensuite)
• Installation of a wood burner
• Domestic wind turbine
• Domestic swimming pool
• Installing a cable car to a home
• Installing other specified systems in small/medium apartments (e.g. smoke alarms, lift, HVAC system)
• Installing insulation to external walls in a home