What you can build or change without a building consent under Schedule 1 of the Building Act, each with its limits and clause.
Find the work you are planning. Where it fits every limit on its card, it needs no building consent; where it does not, it needs one unless the council exempts it.
All building work must meet the Building Code, consent or not (s 17). Work with no consent must also leave the building no less compliant than it was, breach no other Act, and not be on a site that must be authorised as a hazardous substance location.
s 17, 42A
The owner decides whether the work is exempt, and makes sure work with no consent meets the Building Code (s 14B). The council does not inspect it. Not sure? Ask a licensed building practitioner, an engineer or the council before you start.
The council can issue a notice to fix work that breaches the Act or does not meet the Code when it finds it (s 164). Ignoring the notice: a fine ≤ $200,000, and ≤ $20,000 a day while it goes on (s 168).
Work that needed a consent and went without one: a fine ≤ $200,000, and ≤ $10,000 a day while it goes on (s 40). It is put right with a certificate of acceptance, which the council grants only where it is satisfied the work meets the Code (s 96).
s 164, 168, 40, 96
The council's file holds consents and what comes with them, not exempt work (s 216), so a buyer's LIM will not show it unless you lodge it. Give the council the drawings, photos and any records of work, so the file matches what is on site. It may charge, and lodging is not a check. A granny flat under Schedule 1A is the exception: its records must go to the council (s 42B).
Work that does not comply can affect insurance and a sale. To have work signed off, apply for a building consent anyway: the council must process it.
The district plan: height, boundaries and site coverage may need a resource consent, whatever Schedule 1 says. Electrical, gas, plumbing and drainage work by people licensed for it, with their certificates. Health and safety on site. A barrier wherever a fall is ≥ 1 m (F4.3.1), and pool barriers, which no exemption covers.
Sch 1 cl 21; s 42A
Work exempt under Schedule 1 cannot be restricted building work (s 401B), so an LBP is needed only where a card says so. An LBP you hire still answers to the Building Practitioners Board for the work.
s 401B
Part 1 work can be done by anyone, though some of it only where a licensed building practitioner (LBP) designs, builds or supervises it. Part 2 work must be done by a plumber or drainlayer authorised under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006. Part 3 work needs no consent only where a chartered professional engineer (CPEng) designs or reviews it and it is built to that design.
s 42A
The council can exempt any work it considers likely to comply with the Building Code, or unlikely to endanger people or buildings if it does not. Ask before you build: the exemption is the council's to give.
Sch 1 cl 2
Repairing or maintaining any part of a building with a comparable product, or replacing it with a comparable one in the same place.
Not covered: replacing all or most of a specified system, or of anything structural or fire-rated; repairing or replacing something that failed on durability, such as cladding that leaked; sanitary plumbing and drainlaying, which are Part 2's.
Sch 1 cl 1
Needs no building consent, unless it is part of a specified system covered by a compliance schedule, or could only be consented with a waiver of the Building Code. It still needs the licence and certificates the electrical and gas law ask for.
s 43
Detached and one storey: floor ≤ 1 m above the ground and ≤ 3.5 m from the floor to the top. No sanitary facilities and no drinking-water storage. Sleeping only where it goes with a house and has no kitchen, and over 10 m² with smoke alarms. Over 10 m², ≥ 1 m from any house and the boundary.
B1/AS1 here is the edition in force on 28 November 2019, which the Act names.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | ≤ 10 m² | cl 3 |
| Anyone, walls and roof of lightweight products, built to B1/AS1 for timber or steel | 10–30 m² | cl 3A |
| An LBP designs, builds or supervises it | 10–30 m² | cl 3B |
| A kitset or prefab whose maker had a CPEng design or review it, built to that design | 10–30 m² | cl 43 |
Sch 1 cl 3, 3A, 3B, 43
New, detached and single storey: ≤ 70 m² inside its walls, ≤ 4 m from the floor to the top, floor ≤ 1 m above the ground, ≥ 2 m from other houses and the boundary. Timber or steel frame, roofing ≤ 20 kg/m², cladding ≤ 220 kg/m², no mezzanine, no level-entry shower, electric or gas heaters only. Plumbing and drains to E1, G12 and G13's acceptable solutions, ≤ 30 fixture units, main drain ≥ DN100 at 1:60 and branches ≥ DN65 at 1:40, connected to the public network where there is one.
The council must issue a project information memorandum before work starts, and the work must be finished within 2 years of it. Within 20 working days of finishing you send the council the records of work, certificates and final plans. The council does not inspect it or issue a code compliance certificate. Licensed trades still do the restricted building, plumbing, drainage, electrical and gas work. The district plan is separate. A garage inside it is allowed.
Sch 1A cl 1, 2, 3; s 42B
A detached building that houses fixed plant visited only to inspect or maintain it, that people cannot or do not normally enter, or that only builders use while working on another, consented building. It must stand at least its own height from any house and the boundary.
Sch 1 cl 4
One storey: floor ≤ 1 m above the ground and ≤ 4 m from the floor to the top. ≤ 110 m², unsupported roof span ≤ 6 m, wind zone High or less (or design wind speed ≤ 44 m/s). Not open to the public and not storing hazardous substances. At least its own height from any house, road, railway and the boundary.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| An LBP designs, builds or supervises it | All of the above | cl 4A |
| A CPEng designs or reviews it | All of the above | cl 49 |
Sch 1 cl 4A, 49
A tent, marquee, stall or booth: ≤ 100 m², up for ≤ 1 month.
Sch 1 cl 5
All or part of a detached, one-storey outbuilding, on the same footprint and, if replaced, with a comparable one. Not one open to the public.
Sch 1 cl 7
Demolishing the whole of a detached building of ≤ 3 storeys. Removing any of the CPEng-designed structures on this page needs no consent either, however it was designed.
Sch 1 cl 30, 50
Needs no consent at any size, attached to the house or free-standing, so long as it has no roof. With a roof it is a veranda or a carport, and their limits apply.
It still has to meet the Building Code. NZS 3604 does not cover a free-standing pergola, so its structure is specifically designed.
Sch 1 cl 6NZS 3604: is the building inside it?
A roof for parking cars, on the ground and open on at least one side. Its size is its floor area, measured inside the posts; a larger one needs a consent.
A free-standing carport is outside NZS 3604, so its structure is specifically designed, or a kitset maker's engineered design.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | ≤ 20 m² | cl 18 |
| An LBP designs, builds or supervises it | 20–40 m² | cl 18A |
| A CPEng designs or reviews it | 20–40 m² | cl 44 |
Sch 1 cl 18, 18A, 44NZS 3604: is the building inside it?
A porch is a roof over an entrance, open at the front; a veranda is a long one along a side. On or attached to an existing building, not over anywhere the public can go, such as a restaurant or bar. Its size is its floor area, counting what is already there: > 30 m² needs a consent.
On the first storey, F4 needs a barrier wherever people could fall ≥ 1 m. Roof water still goes to the stormwater, laid by an authorised drainlayer, and close to a boundary the rules on fire spreading next door apply.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | ≤ 20 m², at ground or first storey | cl 17 |
| An LBP designs, builds or supervises it | 20–30 m², at ground level | cl 17A |
| A CPEng designs or reviews it | 20–30 m², at ground level | cl 46 |
Sch 1 cl 17, 17A, 46
On or attached to an existing building, not over anywhere the public can go, such as a restaurant or bar. A larger one needs a consent.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | ≤ 20 m², at ground or first storey | cl 16 |
| An LBP designs, builds or supervises it | 20–30 m², at ground level | cl 16A |
| A CPEng designs or reviews it | 20–30 m², at ground level | cl 45 |
Sch 1 cl 16, 16A, 45
Enclosing an existing veranda, patio or the like as a porch or conservatory of ≤ 5 m².
Sch 1 cl 15
Fabric or a similar light material, with its supports: ≤ 50 m², ≥ 1 m from the boundary, on the ground or on a building's ground or first storey.
Sch 1 cl 19
Where nobody could fall more than 1.5 m from it, even if it collapsed.
No consent does not mean no barrier: from a fall of ≥ 1 m the deck needs one that meets F4 (F4.3.1), built with the deck. The barrier does not make it need a consent.
Sch 1 cl 24F4: when a deck needs a barrier
A larger or higher bridge, or one over a road, railway or public area, needs a consent.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | No fall > 1.5 m, even if it collapses | cl 24 |
| A CPEng designs or reviews it | Span < 6 m, no fall > 3 m even if it collapses, with a safety barrier, not over a road, railway or public area, not for public use | cl 47 |
Sch 1 cl 24, 47
Its limit is the depth of ground it holds up. A driveway, parking, a building, a pool, another wall or sloping ground above it is extra load, and needs a consent.
From a fall of ≥ 1 m off its top, F4 may need a barrier, by how the ground above is used, how easily people reach it and whether young children are about.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | Retains ≤ 1.5 m of ground and carries no load beyond it, such as cars | cl 20 |
| A CPEng designs or reviews it | In a rural zone, retains ≤ 3 m, at least its height from the boundary and any building | cl 41 |
Sch 1 cl 20, 41
≤ 2.5 m, measured from its top to the ground directly below. A fence restricting access to a residential pool, or round a tank or pool, is not exempt.
A boundary fence is under the Fencing Act 1978 too, and the district plan may need a resource consent for a tall one.
Sch 1 cl 21, 23
Installing a safety cover as the way of restricting access to a small heated pool at a home.
Sch 1 cl 21A
With the structure that holds it up, even as part of a consented building. The more it holds, the lower it must sit. Its fence or barrier is not exempt.
| Supported | |
|---|---|
| ≤ 500 L | ≤ 4 m above the ground |
| ≤ 1,000 L | ≤ 3 m above the ground |
| ≤ 2,000 L | ≤ 2 m above the ground |
| ≤ 4,000 L | ≤ 1 m above the ground |
| ≤ 8,000 L | ≤ 0.5 m above the ground |
| ≤ 16,000 L | ≤ 0.25 m above the ground |
| ≤ 35,000 L | Directly on the ground |
Sch 1 cl 23
On the ground, ≤ 2 m high, ≤ 200,000 L, ≥ 100 m from any house and the boundary, used only for irrigation or firefighting.
Sch 1 cl 23A
On the ground, with no roof or wall over it: ≤ 2.5 m high, cooking surface ≤ 1 m², ≥ 1 m from the boundary and any building, its smoke no nuisance or hazard.
Sch 1 cl 28A
Swings, slides, forts and the like.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| A private household | No part > 3 m above the ground | cl 28 |
| A government department, Crown entity, licensed early childhood centre, council or similar public body, a CPEng designing or reviewing it | Any size | cl 42 |
Sch 1 cl 28, 42
Free-standing or on a structure, with its supports.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Anyone | Each face ≤ 6 m², top ≤ 3 m above the ground | cl 25 |
| A CPEng designs or reviews it | Any size | cl 39 |
Sch 1 cl 25, 39
On a frame. On a roof, the frame is fixed to the roof structurally; on the ground, by more than one post. Wind zone High or less means a design wind speed ≤ 44 m/s.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| On a roof, anyone | ≤ 40 m² in total, wind zone High or less | cl 28D |
| On a roof, a CPEng designs or reviews it | > 40 m², or design wind speed > 44 m/s | cl 48A |
| On the ground, anyone | ≤ 20 m² (any size in a rural zone), top ≤ 4 m, ≥ 5 m from any house, road, railway and the boundary, wind zone High or less | cl 28C |
| On the ground outside a rural zone, a CPEng designs or reviews it | 20–40 m², with the same limits | cl 48 |
Sch 1 cl 28C, 28D, 48, 48A
A plinth or similar foundation, any size, where a CPEng designs or reviews it.
Sch 1 cl 40
On the ground and ≤ 1 m high without the pipe, carrying one pipe ≤ 300 mm across that carries only water, on private land with no public access, ≥ 5 m from any house, road, railway and the boundary.
Sch 1 cl 28B
Any.
Sch 1 cl 26
Any.
Sch 1 cl 27
Any dam that is not a large dam.
Sch 1 cl 22
A simple structure such as a motorway sign, stopbank or road culvert, owned or run by a network utility operator or a similar organisation.
Sch 1 cl 29
Roof windows too, in an existing house or outbuilding of ≤ 2 storeys. Not where the one being replaced failed on durability, such as by leaking, or where the work affects a specified system.
Sch 1 cl 8
An existing entrance or internal doorway of a detached or semi-detached house, to improve access for people with disabilities.
Sch 1 cl 9
In any existing building, unless the wall is load-bearing, a bracing element, a fire separation, part of a specified system, or brick, block, concrete or stone laid in mortar.
Sch 1 cl 11NZS 3604: which walls are bracing
The linings and finishes of any internal wall, ceiling or floor of an existing house.
Sch 1 cl 12
Installing insulation in an existing building, except in an external wall or a fire separation wall.
Sch 1 cl 13
Laying one in an existing building's subfloor.
Sch 1 cl 13A
≤ 300 mm across, with its weatherproofing, fire stopping and sealing. In a detached house, a house in a building of ≤ 3 storeys, or a detached outbuilding of ≤ 3 storeys, anywhere. In any other existing building, where it does not affect the primary structure or a specified system.
Sch 1 cl 14
Interior work that does not affect the primary structure or a specified system, touches no fire separation wall or masonry wall, and includes no sanitary plumbing or drainlaying.
Sch 1 cl 10
From a building of ≤ 3 storeys, where it does not affect the primary structure, a specified system or a fire separation.
Sch 1 cl 31
Repairing with comparable products, or replacing like for like in the same place. Not replacing all or most of a specified system, anything that failed on durability, or a water heater except as below.
Sch 1 cl 32
Opening and reinstating a purpose-made access point in a drain that is not the network operator's.
Sch 1 cl 33
A minor alteration, such as moving a gully trap. Not a new connection to a network utility's service.
Sch 1 cl 34
Where the building ends up with no more sanitary fixtures than before, no specified system is affected, and the water heater is not altered.
Sch 1 cl 35
Any other change to a water heater needs a consent.
| Limits | Clause | |
|---|---|---|
| Repair or maintain | With comparable products | cl 36 |
| Replace an open-vented storage heater on a wetback or other supplementary heat exchanger | With a comparable open-vented heater, in the same place, on the same pipes | cl 37 |
| Replace or move one | Every heat source it has is controlled | cl 38 |
Sch 1 cl 36, 37, 38