Find out about the penalties you might face if you start building work without an approved building consent.
Potential penalties for building without a consent
If your project needs a resource consent and you start work without one, or you don’t comply with your building consent, you’re committing an illegal offence.
The penalties include fines of up to $200,000 and the removal of the work you’ve done.
The work you do without a build consent won’t qualify for a Code Compliance Certificate. This will make it difficult to sell the building and get insurance.
If we learn that you’re building without a consent, we may issue you with a Notice to Fix, which means you’ll have to either:
- apply for a building consent or an amendment to an existing building consent
- apply for a Certificate of Acceptance (a statement from us that says the work you’ve done complies with the New Zealand Building Code, or
- stop the building work straight away, and not start again without our permission.
How to avoid penalties
Get a pre-application meeting
You can book a pre-application meeting with us to talk about your proposal before you submit a building consent application.
These meetings can save you time and money in the long run.
Book a pre-application meeting.
Get professional help
Building consent applications can be very complex. Depending on the project, they might need a lot of technical detail too. We recommend that you use a planning consultancy, surveyor or architect to apply for resource consent for you. We can help you find the right people.
Contact details
- Email: contact@huttcity.govt.nz
- Telephone: +64 04 570 6666 | 0800 488 824