Processing of Your Building Consent

The Building Consent Process

1. The consent is received at the Council's customer services counter or by post. A fee deposit is required with the application.
2. The consent is vetted. This is where your application is checked for basic information required to start processing your consent. If some information is missing from your application it will either be sent back to you or it will not be accepted over the counter.
3. The consent is then split up with one copy going to have a PIM (project information memorandum) processed (where required) and remaining copies sent to the processing unit.
4. The consent is processed by one of the team. The application is allocated to a building consent officer - by this time a completed PIM will have been included in the file (and you will have been sent a copy). The building officer will look at your plans and specifications to ensure that they show sufficient detail and that they comply with the minimum requirements of the Building Code. If items are found to be non-complying or if extra detail is required to show compliance, you will be sent a request for further information (RFI). In the case where no PIM has been applied for we will also include items that do not comply with the Waimakariri District Council's District Plan that need to be resolved.  The processing time clock is then stopped.
5. RFI information is received. The RFI information is checked by the Building Consent Officer and the processing clock is restarted. The processor then approves the plans and specifications and forwards the completed file to the next stage.
6. The file is then sent to Validation. This is a final quality assurance check.
7. The consent is now sent to issue.
8. Notification is then sent out that your consent is issued and ready to be picked up. This will include an invoice of the fees due which will take into account the deposit that was paid on application. If you have applied for a 'fixed fee' minor works project your consent will automatically be sent out to you.
9. Start work. Building work can start once the building consent is received or up lifted. Inspections can then be booked in.

How Long Does the Process Take?

The Building Unit aims to process your consent within the 20 working day time frame as set in the Building Act. Most projects will be processed well within this time frame.

The amount of time taken to process your consent is directly related to the quality and completeness of the documentation supplied. Any time waiting for further information is not counted in the 20 day time frame (i.e. the clock is stopped when a request for further information is made). The clock is restarted when we receive all of the requested information.