Exempt Building Work

As a home or building owner, you are responsible for:

• determining whether or not your building work is exempt from requiring a building consent or not
• making sure that any exempt building work complies with the Building Code and other relevant legislation.

What building work is exempt?

The Building Act 2004 Schedule 1 details the type of work that does not require a building consent. There is a guide "Building work that does not require a building consent" produced by MBIE to explain schedule 1 and provide examples.

Schedule 1 (clauses 1 – 43, excluding clause 2)

No application is required for work that is exempt by Building Act 2004 Schedule 1, (except clause 2) but you can choose to notify Council so that your property file maintains a record of the work that has been done, by submitting a TAM 001 notification to Council.  Notification will be recorded on the property file upon receipt of the appropriate fee; the notification is not assessed for accuracy. Refer to Building fees and charges.

Please be aware you may still require a resource consent.

Schedule 1, clause 2 - Territorial and regional authority discretionary exemptions

You will need to apply for a discretionary exemption before any building work is started:

• Complete the application form TAM 006
• Email the application form and supporting documents (in PDF format) to building@ncc.govt.nz

Refer to Building fees and charges for information regarding fees for exemptions.

Council will consider the exemption and once a decision is made, you will receive a refusal or acceptance letter. The letter is saved and referenced on the application.  The completed application is then placed on the property file.