Certificates for public use

The certificate for public use provisions came into force on 14 April 2005.

A certificate for public use is a new provision under the Building Act 2004. It is a tool that can be used to certify that premises or parts of premises affected by building work are safe to be used by members of the public.

Certificates for public use can only be used where a consent has been granted for the building work but no code compliance certificate has been issued yet. Certificates for public use do not relieve the owner of a building from the obligation to apply for a code compliance certificate after all the building work has been carried out.

Location in Building Act 1991	Location in Building Act 2004	Description
Did not appear in the Building Act 1991	PART 5 - Miscellaneous provisions Subpart 1 - Other offences and criminal proceedings	Certificates for public use appear in section 363A of the Building Act 2004.

Applying for a certificate for public use

When can an application be made?

A person who owns, occupies or controls premises intended for public use may apply for a certificate for public use for the premises or part of the premises if:

• a building consent has been granted for building work affecting part or all of the premises, and
• no code compliance certificate has been issued for the work.

Who the application should be made to

An application for a certificate for public use should be made to a territorial authority in the district in which the building work is located, using Form 15 of the Building (Forms) Regulations 2004.

Processing a certificate for public use

Processing time

A territorial authority must decide whether to issue the certificate for public use within 20 days after receiving the application. An agreement between the territorial authority and the applicant can be made to establish any further period during which the territorial authority has to decide whether to issue the certificate for public use.

Within the period described above, the territorial authority may require the applicant to give further reasonable information in respect of the application. If more information is requested, the period is suspended until that information is received.

Issuing a certificate for public use

Who can issue

Only a territorial authority can issue a certificate for public use.

When to issue

The territorial authority may issue a certificate for public use on Form 16 of the Building (Forms) Regulations 2004 for all or part of the premises only if it is satisfied on reasonable grounds that members of the public can use the premises or part safely. This is likely to involve some form of inspection.

Matters for consideration

Obtaining a certificate for public use does not relieve the owner of a building of the obligation to apply to a building consent authority for a code compliance certificate after all the building work carried out under the building consent has been completed.