Certificate of acceptance
A certificate of acceptance may be issued by the Territorial Authority detailing the level to which certain building work complies with the building code. A certificate of acceptance will only provide building code certification relating to the work that the Council is satisfied complies with the building code.
A certificate of acceptance applies where:
- work is done without a building consent where one was required
- urgent work is carried out under section 41 of the Building Act 2004
A certificate of acceptance is not as comprehensive as a code compliance certificate as it may exclude some of the work that cannot be inspected or established as complying with the building code by other means. Certificates of acceptance are based on the building code at the time the application is made rather than what was in place at the time a building consent was granted, should have been applied for, or when the work was actually carried out.
The fact that a certificate of acceptance can be issued does not relieve a person from the requirement to obtain a building consent for their building work. The territorial authority still has the ability to issue a notice to fix and to prosecute.
Note: Only building work undertaken after 1 July 1992 can be considered for a certificate of acceptance.
Applying for a certificate of acceptance
With an application, you must supply detailed plans and specifications of the work, just as you would for a building consent application.
When you submit your application for a certificate of acceptance, you will be required to pay a lodgement fee. When your certificate of acceptance application has been processed and site inspections have been completed, you will receive another invoice to cover the costs incurred for the processing, inspection and administration of your application, plus any fees, charges or levies that would have been payable had a building consent been obtained before the building work was carried out.
See the Building Unit Fees and Charges for more information.
Processing a certificate of acceptance
Processing time
Council has 20 working days from the date the certificate of acceptance application is received to decide whether to grant or refuse the application. We may request more information about the application. The 20 working day clock is suspended until the requested information is received.
Issuing a certificate of acceptance
Council will only issue a certificate of acceptance if it is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the building work complies with the building code. A certificate of acceptance will only provide building code certification relating to the work that Council is satisfied complies with the building code.
Council may withhold issuing a certificate of acceptance until any development contributions are paid (if applicable).
A certificate of acceptance cannot be issued where a building consent already covers the work, unless it is relates to public premises affected by building work started or consented before 31 March 2005 and the application for a certificate or acceptance was made before 31 March 2010.
You may be required to obtain a building consent, or an exemption from a building consent, for any remedial work.