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Home > modules > Building Consents (Archived Version 1)

 


BUILDING CONSENTS

AMENDED LEGISLATION

The contents of this module will be affected by provisions contained in the Building Amendment Act 2009 which received the Royal Assent on 31 July 2009.  The changes relate to two key areas.  The first is the introduction of a system of multiple use consents.  These changes will come into effect at a date to be notified by Order in Council.  This will allow the detail of the proposed system to be developed and regulations made providing for this.  The second group of changes affect the preparation of PIMs.  These come into effect 6 months after the Act comes into effect (30 January 2010).  You can download a copy of the Act here.

This will require a review of the module.  We are keen to assemble a small team of experienced practitioners to assist in this review.  The role of the team would be to provide a practitioners perspective on how the changes affect the structure and contents of the module, and what changes are necessary to reflect the amended law.  The extent to which this can be done remotely (email and phone conference) or require one or more meetings will depend on the scale of the changes required.  Anybody who is interested in participating should contact dmackay@solgm.org.nz

MODULE UPDATE (25 FEBRUARY 2009):

This version of the module was published in February 2009.  The changes made affected both the substantive content of and the organisation and format of material.

Key changes are:

  • A variety of changes have been made to the content of the module to incorporate the changes made by the Building Amendment Act 2008 – these changes have been made after review by Simpson Grierson;
  • Several of the existing Flow Diagrams re-designed and simplified;
  • In the process 4 new Flow Diagrams added, these are on:
    •  “Issuing A PIM” 
    •  “Processing Application For Building Consent”
    •  “Immediate Action to Remedy Dangerous, Earthquake Prone & Insanitary Buildings”; and
    •  “Action to Remedy Dangerous, Earthquake Prone & Insanitary Buildings”
  • The analysis tables have been re-formatted & re-written;
  • The “hot tips” section has been expanded and some material has been moved from the analysis table to hot tips table;
  • The legal compliance table” has been  re-formatted and hyperlinks have been added to the provisions of the legislation that are referred to.

As there are substantive changes to the content of the module we recommend that people who are currently holding hard copy of the previous version of the module should destroy these and print new ones. 

All suggestions for improvements, and all offers assistance with the review process gratefully accepted.

PDF Version of Module

A PDF version of the version of the module can be downloaded from the foot of the Links and Pathways page of the module. 

Other Material of Interest

LISTSERVS:

If you interested in sharing information with other local authority staff about building consenting issues there are two listserv available through Local Government Online (www.localgovt.co.nz).  You can subscribe to the Building Control list by sending an email to listserv@listserv.localgovt.co.nz  with the words “subscribe BLDGCONTROL” in the message body.  Similarly to subscribe the the Regulatory Managers’ list send an email to the same address with the words “subscribe REGULATORY ”

DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING AND HOUSING: 

The Department’s website contains a range of useful information at www.dbh.govt.nz/building-law-and-compliance

BUILDING OFFICIALS INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND:

The Institute website at www.boinz.org.nz  provides information about services available to institute members and training offered by the Institute.

BUILDING OFFICIALS’ QUALIFICATIONS:

A project to develop national qualifications for local authority building officials is currently being lead by the Local Government Industry Training Organisation (LGITO)  www.lgito.org.nz  

BCA ACREDITATION RESOURCE KIT: 

The resource kit put together by Local Government New Zealand to assist local authorities with the BCA Accreditation process is available online at: http://www.lgnz.co.nz/projects/SocialandCommunityIssues/BuildingConsent/Toolkit/index.html

SUGGESTIONS:

If you know of other sources of information and guidance that are likely to be relevant to users of this module please let us know so we can add them to the list (dmackay@solgm.org.nz)

Contents of the Module

The Building Act 2004 sets out the requirement on local authorities for dealing with building consents.  This module is an aid to local authorities in complying with these provisions.  The topics addressed are:

  1. Providing Information Relating to Building Consent
  2. Lodging & Acceptance of a PIM
  3. Collecting PIM Information
  4. Issuing a PIM
  5. Receiving Application for Building Consent
  6. Processing Application for Building Consent (Part 1 of 2)
  7. Processing Application for Building Consent (Part 2 of 2)
  8. Grant Building Consent
  9. Inspection During The Building Works
  10. Final Inspection – Building Consent Granted Before 31 March 2005
  11. Final Inspection – Building Consent Granted After 31 March 2005
  12. Issuing a Notice to Fix
  13. Code Compliance Certificate Issue
  14. Issue Compliance Schedule
  15. Administer Warrant of Fitness
  16. Amending Compliance Schedule
  17. Certificate of Acceptance
  18. Dealing with Complaints Under the Building Act
  19. Monitoring of Swimming Pool Fencing
  20. Dangerous, Earthquake Prone & Insanitary Buildings
  21. Action to Remedy Dangerous, Earthquake Prone & Insanitary Buildings
  22. Action to Remedy Dangerous, Earthquake Prone & Insanitary Buildings
  23. Dealing with Unconsented Building Work

Passwords

Anyone who wishes to access this material but does not know their local authority’s password can contact dmackay@solgm.org.nz to get this.

Intranet Links

IN addition if you are having to use a password to access the module but would like a password-free link set up from their local authority’s intranet can get their IT people to contact dmackay@solgm.org.nz who can provide “the  magic words” to be inserted into the link.

Tell Tour Colleagues

You can download a brochure about the module here >>>>

Thanks to Contributors

 Our thanks to the individuals and local authorities who contributed to the development and maintenance of this module. These were:

The original development team in 2003 consisted of:

  • Jamie Lyall - Marlborough DC
  • John Buchan - Christchurch CC
  • Mark Buttimore - Waitaki DC
  • Martin Kennedy - Grey DC
  • Stephen Fray - Rodney DC

The team that undertook a full review of the module in 2005 was:

  • Jamie Lyall - Marlborough DC
  • Peter King - Auckland CC
  • John Buchan - Christchurch CC
  • John Kardas - Hamilton CC
  • Julie Sleep - Wellington CC
  • Ken Smith - Kapiti Coast DC
  • Martin Kennedy -  Grey DC
  • Patrick Schofield - Far North DC
  • Phil Saunders - Hamilton CC
  • Raelene James - RiskPool
  • Terry Archer - Buller DC

 

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The guidance modules published by the programme are designed to assist local authority managers gain assurance that their processes comply with legal obligations.  They are not a substitute for the seeking of professional legal advice and the exercise of sound judgement about when it is necessary to do so.