Building consents

Timeframes

Consents are currently taking up to 30 working days from the date they are lodged to be issued.

When will the consent lapse?
Request an extension
Reasons for processing delays

When will the consent lapse?

A building consent will lapse if:

it has been 12 months since the consent was issued and no inspections have been carried out; or
if within the 12-month period the applicant decides not to proceed with the building project.

This is because the building code, district plan and infrastructure plans that your consent approval is based upon change over time, and as a result these changes pose an increasing risk to your project as the consent ages.

If your consent lapses you will need to re-apply for a new building consent so it is in your interest to contact us prior to the 12-month period expiring to discuss your plans.

In many instances, we are able to grant an extension to your building consent.

If after 12 months you have not been in touch with us, we will contact you to tell you that the building consent has lapsed and cannot be used. If you decide to continue with the building project, you will need to apply for a new building consent.

Request an extension

An extension is typically granted for a 6-month time period. In general we will only grant one such extension, however may extend for a further period if

there are extenuating circumstances or
we are confident no significant changes have occurred to the building code, plans and infrastructure as it affects your site.

You must take into consideration the fact that you must be in a position to apply for a Code Compliance certificate within 24 months of the date the consent was issued.

Reasons for processing delays

Auckland's construction boom and a nationwide shortage of skilled staff have both contributed to on-going delays, and the situation has been made more complex with the introduction of the Building Act 2004.

The 2004 Act requires more detailed information to be submitted with a building consent application. The impact of this has been twofold:

firstly, more time is needed to process the additional information that is supplied
secondly, information is often not being supplied in full. This means the consent goes on hold while our staff request and receive the additional information.

What we are doing about it

We have introduced a number of measures to try to address the situation. These include:

continuation of an ongoing national and international recruitment drive for the building inspections and consents teams
improving our application instructions and publications to ensure the application requirements are clear
offering a pre-lodgement service
examining our internal processes to try to identify other areas where we could improve processing timeframes.

Tips for avoiding processing delays

You can help the process and avoid processing delays by

providing all the information required. Information often left off applications includes specific details on drainage, storm water, materials, cladding detailing and fire engineering requirements to name but a few
applying for a PIM before the building consent. This will save unnecessary delays in the building consent process while such things as drainage, planning and the redesign are being addressed
using materials that have received formal appraisals by recognised Telarc laboratories. This will save time because our team will know that the material is suitable for the purpose it is being used for.

Updated July 2008