Building Assurance forms and fees

The majority of fees and charges in this section, unless specified, have been set in accordance with Sections 219, 240, 243, 281 (A) and (B) – Building Act 2004 (BA).  

Building Consents  

All applications for building consents shall be accompanied by a $2,000.00 deposit, this excludes solid fuel heater applications, where the fixed fee amount will be requested as a deposit. Your deposit is a payment towards costs incurred and additional fees may apply.

Where charges are listed as a deposit only, actual charges will be invoiced at the appropriate hourly rate or part thereof. These projects will receive invoices during the stages of the building consent process.

All project information memorandum, building consent, amendment, Schedule 1 (2) discretionary exemption, certificate if acceptance and certificate for public use applications will incur a separate system application fee unless it is specified as included. 

Additional charges such as a Project Information Memorandum (PIM), Resource Management Check (RMA), Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Levy, Building Research Association New Zealand (BRANZ) Levy, Quality Levy, Insurance Levy, Section 72 decision, Section 75 decision, Reserve Financial Contributions and Development Contributions may apply, see our full schedule for further details.

BRANZ and MBIE Levies, along with a portion of S72, S76 (Building Act 2004) decision are collected on behalf of Government Departments. 

Travel fees may apply for Golden Bay Ward and Lakes Murchison Ward. This will be charged at our hourly rate. If boat access is required to access the building site, this will be recovered based on the cost incurred. 

By submitting your application, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions: 
-   Council reserves the right to assess individual cases as required and additional reasonable charges may be requested by virtue of Section 281B of the Building Act 2004. 

All Invoices are due to be paid by the 20th of the following month. The Council reserves the right to charge any expenses incurred in the course of recovering outstanding debts, which will be payable by the applicant.

Hourly charge-out rate for Staff 

Building Support and Residential Building Technical Officers 

$226.00

Commercial Building Technical Officers 

$250.00

Building Leadership Team 

$270.00

Pre-Lodgement Meetings 

First 30 minutes 

Free 

30 minutes or more 

 As per hourly rate depending on project

Solid Fuel Heater Application (Inclusive of Application Fee) 

Freestanding 

$600.00

Inbuilt 

$826.00

Minor Works Application

The fee includes the average time spent by relevant staff and no more than four Inspections and the system application fee. (Levies, Specialist input or Additional requests for information will be charged additionally per hour or part thereof). 

On-site Wastewater applications

$1,665.00

Swimming pool and/or fence applications

$2,100.00

Kitset/unlined carports, garages and sheds

$2,300.00

Residential Dwellings 

New Dwellings 

Value up to $400,000 

$4,650.00

Value - $400,001 to $600,000 

$5,000.00

Value - $600,001 to $800,000 

$5,650.00

Value - $800,001-$1,000,000 

$6,780.00

Value - $1,000,001 or more 

$226.00/hr

Multi-Dwelling Consents (Consents for two or more dwellings) 

$226.00/hr

Relocated Dwellings (Not including alterations)

$3,160.00

All Other Building Work
Including commercial will be charged as per hourly rate depending on the project.

$2,000.00 deposit

Building Consent Changes  

Formal Amendments are charged per hour. Related additional charges may apply, e.g. System application fee, PIM rechecking, Additional inspections. 

$400.00 non-refundable deposit 

Minor variations 

As per hourly rate depending on project   

Associated Building Costs (GST inclusive) 

System Application Fee 

-     Project Information Memorandum, Schedule 1(2) discretionary exemptions

$92.00

-     Building Consent, Amendment and Certificate of Acceptance Applications valued under $124,999

$92.00

-     Certificate of Acceptance valued over $125,000

$360.00

-     Building Consent and Amendment Application valued Between $125,000 and $2,500,000

0.078% of the value of the work

-     Building Consent Applications valued over $2,500,000

$2,146.25

Project Information Memorandum (PIM)

(Including System Application Fee)
New Construction, additions and alterations, additions/alterations 

$544.00

Resource Management Act Check 
(Not applicable if PIM application has previously been made. See PIM/RMA Rechecking fee) 

$452.00

PIM/RMA Rechecking fee 
(Note: further charges may apply if changes other than minor have been made requiring planning re-assessment) 

$226.00

Insurance Levy 

< $20,000 assessed value 

Nil  

> $20,000 assessed value 

$3.00/$1,000.00 value of project

Quality Levy 

< $20,000 assessed value 

Nil  

> $20,000 assessed value 

$3.60/$1,000.00 value of project

BRANZ Levy

Fees and charges set in accordance with Building Research Levy Act 1969

< $20,000 assessed value 

Nil 

> $20,000 assessed value  

$1.00/$1,000.00 value of project

MBIE Levy

Fees and charges set in accordance with S53 BA  

< $65,000 assessed value 

Nil  

> $65,000 assessed value 

$1.75/$1,000.00 value of project

Building Code Waiver

$350.00 deposit plus hourly rate if time exceeded.

Assessment of Alternative plans, specifications or product certificates provided with the building consent application

-          Residential

$226.00 base fee, incurs hourly charge

-          Commercial

$250.00 base fee, incurs hourly charge

Consultancy Specific design peer reviews (unless provided by applicant) 

At cost plus *10% 

Specialist input 
When a PS2 design is provided this fee may not be applicable 

At cost plus *10% 

Section 72, Section 75 (Building Act 2004) decision, plus legal disbursements 

$589.00 deposit

Section 72, Section 75 (Building Act 2004) removal, plus legal disbursements

 $589.00 deposit

Refuse, lapse and withdraw of building consent administration fee 

$226.00 plus hourly rate depending on project

Work Start Extension Request or Work Completion Request 

$300.00 fixed

Failed Inspection Fee 
To cover additional Inspections required (one hour per inspection) 

As per hourly rate depending on project   

Inspection Cancellation Fee 
(For cancellations after 2 pm the day prior to the day of inspection) 

$226.00/hr

Travel Fee to Lakes-Murchison and Golden Bay Wards

Fee is per site visit

$100.00

Certificate for Public Use (CPU) – Section 363A Building Act 2004 
Renewal

$500 deposit plus hourly rate if time exceeded.

Building Code Durability Modification 

$300.00

Certification Charge 
For historic consents older than 5 years 

As per hourly rate depending on project   

Building Act Schedule 1(2) Exempted Work (BC80)  
Applicants will be charged a $350.00 deposit; applications will be charged per hour for the processing of the applications. 
Levies and Application Fee will be charged additionally. 

$350.00 non-refundable deposit

Application for Certificate of Acceptance (COA)
(Section 97 of the Building Act 2004)
Applicants will be charged a $1,250.00 application fee, charged per hour for the processing of the application, and any levies that would have been payable had building consent been applied for before carrying out the work. The deposit will be a down-payment towards these costs.

$2,000.00 deposit

Swimming Pool Audit Fee 

$226.00/hr

Swimming Pool Re-inspection Fee

$226.00/hr 

Swimming Pool Cancellation Fee

$226.00

Swimming Pool Audit conducted by IQPI lodgement 

$220.00/hr

Compliance Schedule 
New application, whether or not associated with Building Consent 

$570.00 plus hourly rate if time exceeded.

Compliance Schedule Amendments 

$345.00 plus hourly rate if time exceeded.

Building Warrant of Fitness – Before due date 

$226.00

Building Warrant of Fitness – After due date 

$452.00

Building Warrant of Fitness for back flow preventer ONLY 

$113.00

Building Warrant of Fitness Audit Fee 

$250.00/hour

Change of Use

Change of use of a building notification charge e.g. commercial to residential.

$375.00

Notice to fix (NTF) 

Issue and administration where NTF is issued 

$500.00

Building Infringement Notice 
Infringement fees are set out in the Building (Infringement Offences, Fees and Forms) Regulations 2007 

Charges depending on the degree of the offence  

Section 124 Dangerous and Insanitary and Affected Building Notice 

$630.00 plus hourly rate depending on project.

Lodgement of unauthorised building reports 
(pre Building Act only – pre June 1991) 

$226.00

Lodgement of Building Act Schedule 1 (BC74) 
Exempt work reports with owner’s declarations 

$226.00

Building Certificates required under other legislation (e.g. Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act 2012); 
Plus inspection charge (if required). 

$250.00 plus hourly rate if time exceeded

Documents requiring Council resolution, certification or Council seal; 
Plus actual cost (over 60 minutes) and any legal disbursements 

$226.00/hr

(+$226.00/ hr)

Dam safety regulations 
Lodgement of documents relating to dam safety regulations

$250.00 base fee and $250.00/hr

Earthquake Prone Building 

Application fees for exemptions or extensions of time are to be paid at the time of lodgement. Additional fees may be incurred for assessment of information or other requirements and will be charged at an hourly rate of $250.00/hour.  
NB: At cost is work outsourced to suitably qualified persons. 

To obtain an Engineering assessment s133AI(3)(c) by the Territorial Authority 

At cost* plus $250.00/hr

Application for Exemption to carry out Seismic work s133AN(2) 

$660.00

Application for an extension of time to complete seismic work for Heritage buildings s133AO(3) 

$660.00

Council to erect hoarding or fence for an EQP Building s133AR(1)(a) 

At cost* plus
$250.00/hr 

Territorial Authority may carry out seismic work s133AS 

At cost*  

Issue of Earthquake Prone Building notice s133AL (5 copies) 

$457.00

Additional or replacement earthquake-prone building notice s133AL 

$130.00 each

Earthquake-prone building site visit  
(To confirm EQB notices are displayed or other reasons) 

$250.00/hr

Assessment of information related to a Building’s EQP status s133AH and s133AK 

$250.00/hr

Disputes and Investigations (where Council deemed not in fault) 

$270.00/hr

Determination Charge 
(Unless Council is the applicant of the determination) 

$270.00/hr

NB
* At cost refers to work outsourced to a suitably qualified person(s), and the additional hourly charge-out rate is to cover internal costs.
** Costs to be established with Building (Dam Safety) Regulations 2022 coming into force on 13 May 2024.