You will need the following documents (in pdf form) before you can submit your application:

• A Record of Title (less than 6 months old)
• Project plans, including site plans, floor plans, services, elevations, electrical plans
• Specifications
• Supporting documents. This includes a Ground Report for any foundations or drainage, brace calculations, truss certificates, on-site wastewater details, engineers documents and calculations, cladding specifications (specific to the job and not the entire document), memorandum of design work etc.

This guide from  MBIE (the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) will also be able to assist you with what you need to provide when applying for a building consent. 

• Building Consent Guidance

From 31 August 2020, some building projects no longer need a building consent, making it faster and easier for people to turn their building dreams into a reality.

These are the types of building projects that may no longer require a building consent:

• SOME single-storey detached buildings such as sleepouts, sheds and greenhouses up to 30 square metres (see 'Sleepouts' and 'Accessory Buildings'). 
• Carports (up to 40 square metres )
• Ground floor awnings, verandas and porches (up to 30 square metres ).
• Repairing and replacing some existing building elements. 

Solar panel arrays, permanent outdoor fireplaces or ovens, water storage bladders for irrigation and firefighting purposes, short-span small bridges, hay barns and pole sheds are also included.

Even though these building projects may not need a building consent, all work must meet the Building Code and some work requires a professional. Some projects also require Resource Consent (see 'Resource Consents' tab in the side bar). It's important that homeowners know there are still rules that need to be followed.

If you own the property, you own the responsibility. This means you must check whether your building project requires a Building Consent or Resource Consent.

All the information you need to make your decision is available at https://www.building.govt.nz/buildit

AlphaOne User Guide

The Westland District Council now processes all building consents online via an electronic system called AlphaOne.

• AlphaOne User Guide
• Click here to lodge a consent or create an account

To allow unfinished work of any Building Consent to continue beyond two years from the date that consent was granted, an application for an extension of time must be applied for. If no application is made then consent will expire and the Code Compliance Certificate will not be issued.

• Application for Extension - Online Form
• Application for Extension

A minor variation is a minor modification, addition, or variation to a building consent that does not deviate significantly from the plans and specifications to which the building consent relates.

Application for a minor variation to building consent

To install a new or replacement log burner, diesel heater etc., you or your plumber need to apply for Building Consent via the Alpha One online consenting system. 

Click here to lodge a consent or create an account

This Spaceheater Specification form should be filled in and attached to your application as a pdf. 

WBCA 002 Spaceheater Specification V1.0.12

If your heater has a wetback for hot water, it must be fitted by a Licensed Plumber. 

Where work has been undertaken without a Building Consent having been uplifted and certification is required as to the apparent standard of the work, application can be made for a Certificate of Acceptance. It is likely that a Certificate of Acceptance would be associated with other legal proceedings relating to the unlawful building work. It may be necessary for you take legal advice. These applications should be submitted through the AlphaOne online portal.

All applications MUST be accompanied with detailed plans, including site plan, floor plan, elevations, cross sections etc and supporting information including, bracing details, engineer details (if any), ground bearing report, specifications, truss certificates and any other information to support your application. If these details are not provided your application may be rejected.

• Get Started with AlphaOne

Often a building that is to be used by the public will only be partially completed before being opened. A Code Compliance Certificate can not be issued until all the building work has been issued and so the Building Act requires a Certificate of Public Use to be issued for either the whole premises or part of the premises while waiting for the building work to be completed to be issued a Code Compliance Certificate. You can only apply for a Certificate of Public Use for work being undertaken with a Building Consent.

• Certificate of Public Use Application

A Building Consent is required for the installation of all on-site wastewater disposal systems. All applications require this form to be completed by a plumber/drainlayer/engineer for inclusion with the building consent application.

• Evaluation and Information for On-Site Wastewater Disposal

Residential and small to medium sized apartment buildings are classed as Restricted Building Work and must be designed and constructed by Licensed Building Practitioners. LBP’s include Designers/Carpenters/Roofers/External Plasterers/Brick and Blocklayers/Foundation Specialists/Professional Engineers/Architects/Plumbers and Gasfitters.

The following forms are required to be completed by the Licensed Building Practitioners:

• Memorandum – Certificate of Design Work
• Memorandum – Record of Building Work

Residential and small to medium sized apartment buildings are classed as Restricted Building Work and must be designed and constructed by Licensed Building Practitioners.

LBP’s include Designers/Carpenters/Roofers/External Plasterers/Brick and Blocklayers/Foundation Specialists/Professional Engineers/Architects/Plumbers and Gasfitters.

• View the LBP Public Register
• View the Architects Board Register
• View the IPENZ Register

The form is required to be completed for a request for waiver or modification in respect of Compliance with Building Code Clause B2 Durability on a Code Compliance Certificate. This form must be completed by the owner or agent.

• Request for Waiver of Modification

Where a premises has an existing Compliance Schedule and a change needs to be made to the Schedule because of building work undertaken or changes to the way the building is used, it is likely that a change could be required to the Compliance Schedule.

• Amendment to Compliance Schedule Application

On the 1st January 2017 the following legislation came into effect. The Building (Pools) Amendment Act 2016 replaced the Fencing and Swimming Pools Act 1987.

Key changes include:

• Residential swimming pools must be inspected every three years
• Safety covers will be able to be used as barriers for spa pools and hot tubs
• Territorial authorities will have better tools to enforce pool barrier requirements, including notices to fix and infringement notices.
• The Amendment Act created new Building Code clause F9.
• The Building (Pools) Regulations 2016 sets out the fees payable by independently qualified pool inspectors, and the certificate they will issue if a pool has compliant barriers.
• The Building (Pool Manufacturers and Retailers) notice in the New Zealand Gazette sets out the requirements for notices that manufacturers and retailers must supply with pools from 1 September 2017.

You can read more about restricting access to residential pools on the Building Performance website.

Swimming Pool barriers and fences require Building Consent. 

• The Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 (the Act) came into force on 1 July 2017 and contains major changes to the current system of identifying and remediating earthquake-prone buildings under the Building Act 2004 including a new national system for building identification and assessment and a publicly available national register of buildings that are earthquake-prone.
  
  View the Earthquake-Prone Buildings Policy

• View the Temporary Building/Marquee Checklist

A sleepout is an Accessory Building to a main dwelling and can't be built on its own. This is because a sleepout can not contain a bathroom, drinking water supply, or kitchen facilities - if it does, it is considered a minor dwelling and would need both Building and Resource Consent. It can contain a solid fuel heater, as can a garage, but this would need Building Consent.

An exempt sleepout also needs to be its own height away from the boundary. It needs to be built to the Building Code and may require supervision by an LBP or design certified by a Engineer, depending on the building materials.

You must install smoke alarms if the detached building is going to be used for sleeping. 

See MBIE's notes: Notes for single-storey detached buildings