What you need to do to organise building consent and a Project Information Memorandum. Consider whether you need any resource consents.

Building consent

Getting building consent is your responsibility as the owner of the property. But you can delegate this task to your architect/designer, or the builder or person you are using as a project manager.

One view is that the best time to find out about, and apply for, building consent may be before the job goes to tender so you can be assured that the house can be built based on the plans and specification presented to the BCA.

The alternative view is that it is best to wait until the tenders are in before applying for consent, because if they come in too high, you might decide to abandon your project, or make major changes before seeking consent. Some BCAs require a reasonably accurate idea of the cost of the project to be included in the consent application, so in that case you will need to get the tenders in first. 

If it is part of your brief that the builder organises consent, it won’t be applied for until you’ve engaged your builder.

Find out more about building consents.

PIM

A Project Information Memorandum (PIM) provides information relevant to the proposed building work. For example, it will show the location of storm water drains which may affect where the house is positioned. It will also advise whether a resource consent is needed.

The PIM is a legal requirement which will be issued with the building consent but it is a good idea to apply for it in advance of the building consent application. This way you can assess whether your work is likely to be approved.

Find out more about PIMs. 

Resource consent

You may be required to get resource consent, for example if the foundations require major earthworks, or if the plans put your house closer to the boundary than allowed in the district plan. This should be sorted out when your plans are being drawn.

Find out more about resource consents. 

Allowing time and money

Both the building consent and resource consent can take time to process so make sure you factor this into your timing of the project.

You will also need to budget for fees for obtaining various documents. The cost will depend on the fees charged by individual BCAs, the value of the house being built and in the case of resource consents, the type of consents required. Your BCA will advise you.