HOW TO GET UNCONSENTED BUILDING WORK LEGALISED

Many buildings in NZ have been built or altered without obtaining a building consent, or if issued with a building consent such a large amount of time has passed before applying for a CCC that leaves council unsure whether the work completed complies with the building code at the time the work was carried out.

Whether you have purchased property that has undergone work without consents or failed to get the correct consents yourself, there is an avenue to legalise this building work under the Building Act. This involves applying for a Certificate of Acceptance (COA), or a section 95a letter or a Notice to Fix (NTF) being issued by the Council.

Many home and business owners are confused about how to get unconsented building work legalised under the Building Act. COA are certificates issued retrospectively by a local authority (‘Council’) for unconsented building works. A COA will only be issued if the Council is satisfied that those works comply with the building code at the time the application is made. So, if you were to apply today, the works would need to comply with the current building code to receive the certificate, not the building code as it was at the time the works were completed. COA’s are more complicated, time-consuming and expensive than applying for a building consent in advance of work.

For building work carried out before 1 July 1992, you will need a safe and sanitary report. This report doesn’t actually approve any work, it simply states whether the building is safe or not.

As you can see it is possible to get unconsented building work legalised under the Building Act, but it can be quite a process. That is why we would recommend seeking advice on the project before undertaking any building work. That way, you can apply for the relevant building consents beforehand, making the process a lot smoother.

Learn more about a Certificate of Acceptance?

A CoA is a letter issued by the territorial authority (TA) for the area where the building is located. It is usually issued for work that was carried out without a building consent. However, a building owner may apply when any of the following situations occur.

• Where a current or previous owner has carried out building work for which consent was required but was not obtained (under either the 1991 or 2004 Building Acts).
• Where a building consent authority that is not a territorial or regional authority is unable or refuses to issue a code compliance certificate in respect of building work for which it granted building consent.
• Where a building certifier is unable or refuses to issue a code compliance certificate or building certificate
• Where building work started or consented before 31 March 2005 affects public premises.
• A COA can also retrospectively certify work that had to be carried out urgently – without time to apply for consent – for public health and safety reasons. The owner must apply for a COA when a building consent would ordinarily have been required (see section 42 of the Building Act 2004).
• An owner must apply for a certificate of acceptance for building work that has been carried out urgently (see section 42 of the Building Act 2004).
• The fact that a certificate of acceptance can be issued does not relieve a person from the legal requirement to obtain a building consent for building work. The territorial authority still has the ability to issue a Notice To Fix (NTF) and to prosecute building owners, builders and supervisors for failing to obtain a building consent.

A certificate of acceptance cannot be issued if:

• Building work was carried out prior to 1 July 1992 (when the building consent provisions of the Building Act 1991 came into force)
• A building consent was ever obtained for the work concerned (except in the situation where a building certifier or building consent authority that is not a territorial or regional authority is unable or refuses to issue a code compliance certificate or if building work, started or consented before 31 March 2005, affects public premises).