The Consent Process

Confused by the consent process, not sure where to start.. you’re not alone. The consent process can seem daunting, but it doesn’t need to be, we outline below the basics of one of the first stages of your build project – building consent!

What is it and do I need it?

A building consent is a formal approval granted by local council under the Building Act. Once granted it allows you to start your building project.

A building consent will only be issued once the council is satisfied the proposed building work will meet the requirements of the Building Code.

Who is responsible for lodging the building consent and what is required?

Once we have gone through the process of designing and drawing the plans to your dream home, we will spend up to four weeks pricing the entire project ensuring that it is inline with budgets and expectations. A master builders contract is then presented to you to kick start the build. It’s at this point – signing of the building contract – that our architect will lodge the consent application with council.

Our architect will apply for this on your behalf and take care of any questions from council that may arise until approval has been granted. Essentially there is nothing required of you during this process.

How long will it take?

The approval process will generally take 4 – 6 weeks from the date of lodgement.

What about resource consent?

Many projects will trigger resource consent, generally speaking around 40% of our builds require resource consent. This can be triggered for a number of reasons for example the dwelling covering more than 40% of the site.

Resource consent, if required, is another process that we will manage for you, Cameron will apply and manage this application with the council on your behalf, it can take 4 – 6 weeks. Resource consent does not require the in-depth builders drawings that the building consent requires therefore we generally lodge this application earlier, at the concept design stage. This ensures no delays to the project.