Does a carport need building consent?

Three clauses of Schedule 1 cover carports.

Schedule 1 of the Building Act lists the work that needs no building consent. Three of its clauses are about carports, and which one applies depends on the carport's size and who designs or builds it.

• Every exemption, on one page

On the ground, by its floor area.

With an LBP, a licensed building practitioner carries out or supervises its design or its construction. With a CPEng, a chartered professional engineer designs it or reviews the design, and it is built to that design.

Building Act 2004 Schedule 1 clauses 18, 18A and 44

Closed in on every side, it is no longer a carport.

These are how MBIE reads the exemption in its guidance. A structure walled in on every side is not a carport, and these clauses do not cover it.

MBIE, exempt building work guidance, notes for carports

Check these before you build.

All building work must meet the Building Code, consent or not, and the owner answers for it. MBIE's notes for carports name the district plan, the roof's stormwater and fire near a boundary.

Building Act 2004 ss 14B, 17 · NZS 3604:2011 1.1.3(a) · MBIE, notes for carports

• What still applies to exempt work
• NZS 3604: is the building inside it?

A buyer will not find it on the file otherwise.

MBIE advises lodging the drawings, specifications and photos of exempt work with the council, so its records match what is on site when the property is sold.

Building Act 2004 s 216 · MBIE, work you can do without a building consent

• Selling, insurance and the property file