Application Decision

Your building consent is granted after we have completed a full review of your application and:

• we are satisfied on reasonable grounds that the proposed work will meet the building code if the building work is completed as shown on the plans and specifications with your application, and
• all required fees have been paid.

We will notify you (the owner) and your nominated contact (if any) when your consent is granted.

You will be sent an invoice for to pay.

Your approved building consent may include (as relevant):

• advice notes
• a list of required inspections
• conditions you must follow
• approved and stamped plans and specifications
• a project information memorandum (PIM), if applied for
• development contribution notice if applicable (section 36)
• an RMA certificate, where required (section 37)
• a list of documents required during construction
• details of any third party construction monitoring (where relevant).

As a condition of your consent, you must allow the building work to be inspected. A copy of the approved consent documents must be kept on site at all times.

If your application is refused, we’ll notify you in writing and explain why.

You can’t start building work until your consent has been granted.

If your building consent is granted before your resource consent:

• Inspections can’t take place until your resource consent is issued
• A section 37 certificate will be attached to your building consent
• This certificate will either:
• present any building work from starting, or
• state what work (if any) can proceed before the resource consent is issued.

You may also need other approvals specific to your project before starting work.

Once granted, building consents becomes public information and may be viewed as part of your property records.

Council also provides consent information the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE),  Statistics New Zealand, and Quotable Value (QV) for official statistics.

Monthly consent lists are shared with subscribers.

Sometimes a building consent cannot be granted, and we will refuse it.

If this happens, we’ll explain the reasons in writing.

Common reasons for refusal include:

• Starting building work before consent is granted
• Not meeting building code requirements
• Proposing banned products or construction methods in your build
• Not responding to requests for further information (RFI) within a reasonable time
• Long periods without communication with you
• Other issues identified by us during assessment.

Even if your consent is refused, you’ll still need to pay the processing fees for the time and costs involved in processing your consent.

• A building consent is valid for 12 months from being granted.
• All building work should be completed within two years of the consent being granted.

Building consent lapse

• If work doesn’t start within 12 months of consent being granted, your consent will automatically lapse and be of no effect.
• If this happens, you’ll need to apply for a new building consent to continue with your build.

We usually try to remind owners and their nominated contact person a few months before a consent is due to lapse. Therefore, it’s important to keep your contact details up to date.

If you decide not to proceed with a building project after your building consent has been issued, our approach Selwyn is:

• You (the owner) must confirm in writing that you wish to withdraw the consent
• We will update the consent status to ‘withdrawn’ – this means the work can’t proceed without a new consent.
• We will reconcile your account and refund any fees paid for work or inspections that have not been carried out.

Extend your building consent

If your project is delayed during build, you may apply in writing for an extension of time, including:

• the reason for the delay, and
• how much additional time you need.

We’ll review your request and confirm the decision in writing.