Building consents
Judith Cheyne, an Associate at Simpson Grierson, has been invited to comment on the building consents process.
The Building Act 2004 brings widespread changes to the building industry, but many will be pleased to find that building consent processes are largely the same. The Building Officials’ Guide to the Building Act 2004 sets out the consent lifecycle in considerable detail.
Here are some key changes between the 1991 and 2004 Acts.
Applying for a building consent
An owner who intends to carry out building work must still apply for a building consent before the work begins. It is important to note that the definition of ‘building work’ has changed: as well as including sitework, ‘building work’ now also includes building design, and work ‘on an allotment that is likely to affect the extent to which an existing building on that allotment complies with the building code’. This means building consents will be required in situations where they may not have been previously, such as where excavations affect the stability (and Code compliance) of an existing building on the same land.
An application for a building consent must be made to a building consent authority (BCA). The application must be made on the prescribed form and be accompanied by the appropriate fee, the plans and specifications, any PIM previously obtained, a list of the specified systems (from the compliance schedule), and any other information the BCA reasonably requires.
Although producer statements are no longer expressly referred to in the Building Act 2004, these can still be accepted and considered by a BCA as part of the plans or specifications.
As it is no longer possible to obtain interim code compliance certificates (CCCs), separate building consents may be needed for stages of the proposed building work. From 30 November 2004, it has been an offence to use a public building that does not have a code compliance certificate.
More applications for amendments to building consents might need to be made under the Building Act 2004 as a CCC can only be issued if the building work complies with the building consent (the Building Act 1991 required direct compliance with the Building Code instead).
Processing and issuing a building consent application
A BCA has 20 working days from the date the application is received to decide whether to refuse or grant a building consent. (This compares with 10 working days under the Building Act 1991, if the value of the work was less than $500,000.) The BCA can also request further information, in which case the 20-day period is suspended until the information is received.
The BCA must take into account any memorandum from the New Zealand Fire Service Commission, and any warning or ban on building products or methods to be used when considering the application. If a ban has been imposed, a consent cannot be granted.
To grant the consent the BCA must be satisfied that, if the building work is completed in accordance with the plans and specifications, the provisions of the Building Code will be met. If the consent is refused, the BCA must state its reasons in writing within the 20-day time-frame.
Change of use, extension of life, or subdivision affecting the building
Written notice must be given to the TA if the owner of a building proposes to change its use or extend its life, or if the owner proposes to subdivide land in a manner that affects a building. It is an offence for an owner to fail to give written notice in these circumstances.
If the use of a building is changed to include household units where these did not previously exist, then the building must comply with all the provisions of the Building Code. The subdivision provisions are also worded differently. While the relevant sections are not now expressly limited to cross-lease, company lease or unit title subdivisions, it seems that a ‘subdivision that affects a building’ may still in most instances only relate to subdivisions of the kind referred to in section 224(f) of the Resource Management Act 1991.