New guidance to help with building consent amendments

Changes or variations to consented building work are commonly proposed during a building project. Some changes are relatively minor (eg, replacing a brand of tap), but others can be quite major changes (eg, using a different cladding system to that approved when the building consent was granted).

Making changes to consented building work without first getting the right approvals can have potentially serious consequences. An obvious risk is that building work may not comply with the Building Code. This could mean that a building is constructed in a way that is unsafe or insanitary.

Building consent authorities (city or district councils) need to assess all proposed changes to previously consented building work. They will then decide the best way to approve the change, depending on how significant the change is. There are a number of ways to do this but, at the end of the day what is actually built needs to be consistent with the approved building consent documentation.

Proposed Building Act changes

A Building Amendment Bill was introduced into Parliament earlier this year as one of the initiatives to help streamline the building consenting and approval system. The Bill helps provide greater clarity on the requirements for considering and approving amendments to building consents, including distinguishing between 'minor' and 'major' variations to consented building work.

New guidance

Until the Bill is further considered in Parliament and becomes law, the Department has developed guidance to help people in the interim. This guidance sets out our expectations around how proposed variations should be communicated to building consent authorities and assessed by building officials, and the options available for then making the required amendment approvals to the original building consent documents for the building work. The roles and responsibilities of each party are outlined and the document also discusses minor and major variations and the options available for handling each. The Guide to building consent amendments (September 2008) will help the building and construction sector to effectively and efficiently deal with amendments. In particular, the guide encourages builders, designers, homeowners (and their agents), and developers to identify and notify proposed variations at the earliest stage. It also assists building officials to follow a more sound and practical approach to dealing with proposed variations. This should allow for quicker decision-making by building officials.

Hard copies of the Guide to building consent amendments are available from the Department on (0800) 242 243. They are also available on the Department's website along with other relevant information, including the Guide to applying for a building consent (simple residential buildings) and the Beginner's Guide to Resource and Building Consent Processes. www.dbh.govt.nz/publications-about-the-building-act-2004