A beginner's guide to resource and building consent processes: Completing your project
Step 10: Engage a builder and start construction
Now that you have your resource and building consents, you can get to work! The next important step is to engage the contractor(s) who will carry out the work.
Here are some other important points to note as you work on your building:
- Your building consent will lapse if you don’t start your building work within 12 months unless you have made arrangements with the council for a longer period to apply. If the building consent lapses, and you still want to do the work, you will have to apply for a new building consent.
- The Building Act anticipates that building work will be completed and a code compliance certificate applied for within 2 years of the building consent being granted. An extension to this 2-year period can be agreed with the council.
- The council can issue a notice to fix if you don’t comply with the Building Act; for example, if you don’t follow your building consent, or you don’t comply with the inspection process. A notice to fix requires you to put right any breaches of the Building Act. You could be fined if you, or your builder, fail to comply with a notice to fix.
More detailed information on licensed building is available.
Note: A building consent is granted on the basis of specific drawings and specifications. This determines what you must build. You can't change any details key materials, or produces unless they are agreed in an amendment ot the building consent. Depending on the significance of the changes, the process for amending a building consent may be the same as for the initial application. If you want to change your plans before or during construction, you must tell the council. The council will tell you what is required to amend the building consent.
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Step 11: Ensure inspections are carried out
Inspections are required to ensure that building is being undertaken in accordance with the building consent and to ensure that the council will have enough information to issue a code compliance certificate (see Step 13).
All the building inspections listed in your consent must be completed. These will be scheduled at key points to show that work complies with the consent – such as a prelining inspection before the wall is closed up. If work isn’t ready when the building official arrives, you may have to pay for more inspections.
Tom and May have a limited budget, but Moana has been careful to ensure the quality of her design and the materials used are not compromised by cost-cutting. Because she has taken many projects from design to completion, she can give Tom and Mary a list of good builders and subcontractors who are licensed practitioners under the Building Act. She is a strong advocate of a team approach across all trades, and so she has noted contractors who work well together. Tom and Mary like her approach and they negotiate with her preferred team.
The couple have also employed Moana to supervise the work because they don't have the necessary skills, experience, or time Discussions with the local building official have convinced them that this was a good idea. Because Moana is a designer, contract administrator and project manager, she can make quick decisions and clarify design issues on site. This will avoid any unnecessary delays.
Note: In addition to building inspections you should also check to see if your resource consent requires other inspections to be made.
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Step 12: Building is complete
The building work is complete when all the work is finished in accordance with the building consent.
Even though Moana arranged all the required inspections, Tom and Mary were actively involved. They made sure they were present during all the inspections to be sure they knew about any concerns raised by the building official and could participate in decision-marking about how best to address such concerns. Moana had insisted on this as she knows that the Building Act places ultimate responsibility on Tom and Mary as the building owners.
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Step 13: Get a code compliance certificate
When you finish your project, you must arrange for a final inspection and then apply to the council for a code compliance certificate (CCC). The council has 20 working days from the date of your application to decide whether to issue a CCC. If the council requests further information, the process goes on hold until the information is received. A CCC is issued when the council is satisfied the completed building work complies with the building consent. It provides an assurance to both you and future owners that the building work was done to the appropriate standards.
If you don’t submit an application for a CCC within 2 years of being granted your building consent, and you haven’t agreed an extension with the council, the council will follow up with you and may decide then whether to grant a CCC.
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Step 14: Ensure ongoing compliance
Because any resource consent you have is likely to relate not just to the activity of construction, but the on-going use of the land or buildings, there are likely to be conditions on your resource consent that require on-going compliance on your part, as well as potential monitoring obligations. Typically, these conditions might relate to such things as a requirement to seal the driveway or paint a building in certain colours. In the event that you sell your property, the resource consent (in the case of a land use or subdivision consent) along with the obligation to comply with any conditions transfers automatically to the new owner.
Thanks to Moana's resolve, the skill of the building team, and Tom and Mary's wise decisions, the construction went well, finishing on time and under budget. Mary delivered healthy twins, also on time.
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