Building consent inspections and certification

Inspections are required in order to verify that building work complies with the consented documents.

What inspections will be needed

The officer processing your application will do an assessment to determine what inspections will be necessary so that the Council can verify that building work has been carried out according to consented documents. A list of inspections and requirements for each inspection will be attached to the building consent. If you believe anything on the inspection list is incorrect, please contact Council as soon as possible.

Please ensure that you read the inspection requirements and are familiar with them before starting building work.

Every building consent is subject to the condition that Council Building Inspectors are able to inspect the building work.

Stages of construction that require inspection

Inspections are required for all stages of construction:

Excavation/Foundation/Reinforcing or Piled Foundation
Under floor drainage
Concrete floor/Damp proof membrane or timber floor framing
Building framing and exterior building wrap
Flashings
Exterior cladding
Pre-lining including insulation to floors, walls and ceilings
Plumbing and drainage
Roof framing and roof underlay
Internal linings and bracing
Bathroom/wet areas waterproofing
Final inspection of all building works including exterior and finished ground levels

You will need to ensure that the Inspector can access the building work in order to inspect it. Any safety equipment required for the inspection, such as scaffolding or high ladders, are expected to be provided on site for the inspection.

Inspections by external specialists

In addition to the Council’s inspection, it may be necessary, in special circumstances, for external specialists to conduct inspections that fall outside the normal building inspection process, eg. having a geotechnical engineer confirm ground stability, or having an aspect of specific structural design checked by a chartered professional engineer.

If a specialist inspection is necessary, you will be advised in the issued consent documentation. This would be included in the addendum to the building consent. The specialist will need to provide evidence of their inspections to Council before a code compliance certificate can be issued.

Booking an inspection

When you are fully ready for an inspection, please call 03 546 0334 and make sure you have the following information available:

Site address
Building consent number
Name and phone number of contact person on site
Licensed Building Practitioner name and number (if applicable)
Date and time the inspection is required
Type of inspection, e.g. plumbing, drainage, foundation etc

Important notes

Please give at least three working days advance notice of your inspection request. Council endeavours to arrange inspections as soon as possible, however in periods of high building activity or staff absence, the inspection may need to be done later than you request.

Council cannot normally satisfy your request for an inspection with less than 24 hours notice.

It is your responsibility (or your agent’s) to notify Council that you require an inspection.

Make sure you have the approved plans and documentation on site. If these are not available when the inspector arrives, the inspection may not take place, and you will be charged for a re-inspection.

The owner, or builder, or agent (e.g. architect) must be on site for all inspections.

Make sure that you, or your agent, arranges for any inspections that your engineer or consultant is required to carry out, advise Council when these are completed, and provide the appropriate inspection records to Council. If these inspections are not carried out, the Council may have difficulty issuing the code compliance certificate.

Result of the inspection

If the work passes

The Inspector will advise the person on site if the inspection has been passed. The inspection report will be emailed to the contact person on site, and to the owner of the building.

If the work fails the inspection

The work to be remedied will be recorded on the site inspection sheet, which will be emailed to the contact person on site, and to the owner. A re-inspection may be required to sign off any remedial work. The following may also occur:

Work may have to stop
Work will be allowed to continue under certain conditions (conditional continuation)
You may be asked to apply for amendment to the building consent in order to achieve compliance with the building code
If there has been a serious breach of the Building Act 2004 or regulations, Council may issue a notice to fix

You will be charged for re-inspections and this will need to be paid before the code compliance certificate can be issued.

To cancel an inspection please call 03 546 0334 by 3pm on the working day before.

Notice to Fix

This is a formal notice issued by the building consent authority, advising that certain works have not been carried out in accordance with the building code. If issued, a letter explaining the process will accompany it.

If a notice to fix is issued, you are required to address the issues identified within a prescribed time frame, to prevent further action being taken. A notice to fix may require to you stop work, or impose conditional continuation of works.

Final Inspection

All building consents require a final inspection. All the building work approved in the building consent must be completed prior to the inspection being undertaken. You will be asked to provide any outstanding documentation before the final inspection can be booked, including all necessary paperwork e.g. Memorandum (Records of Building Work) or a Notice of Owner-Builder form (forms can be downloaded from the Consent forms and guides A - Z page).