Building Act 2004
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 13 — Role of regional authority
13 Role of regional authority Under this Act, a regional authority— (a) performs the functions of a building consent authority set out in section 12 to the extent that those functions relate to dams…
Section 14 — Roles of building consent authorities, territorial authorities, and regional authorities in relation to dams
14 Roles of building consent authorities, territorial authorities, and regional authorities in relation to dams (1) The regional authority is responsible for performing functions under this Act…
Section 15 — Outline of this Part
15 Outline of this Part (1) In general terms, this Part provides— (a) that all building work must comply with the building code to the extent required by this Act: (b) how compliance with the…
Section 16 — Building code: purpose
16 Building code: purpose The building code prescribes functional requirements for buildings and the performance criteria with which buildings must comply in their intended use.
Section 17 — All building work must comply with building code
17 All building work must comply with building code All building work must comply with the building code to the extent required by this Act, whether or not a building consent is required in respect…
Section 18 — Building work not required to achieve performance criteria additional to or more restrictive than building code
18 Building work not required to achieve performance criteria additional to or more restrictive than building code (1) A person who carries out any building work is not required by this Act to— (a)…
Section 19 — How compliance with building code is established
19 How compliance with building code is established (1) A building consent authority must accept any or all of the following as establishing compliance with the building code: (a) compliance with…
Section 20 — Regulations may specify that there is only 1 means of complying with building code
20 Regulations may specify that there is only 1 means of complying with building code (1) Regulations may be made under section 401 that specify that there is only 1 means of complying with all or…
Section 21 — What happens if regulations specifying that there is only 1 means of complying with building code are made or not made
21 What happens if regulations specifying that there is only 1 means of complying with building code are made or not made (1) If regulations referred to in section 20 are made, a person who carries…
Section 22 — Compliance document for use in establishing compliance with building code
22 Compliance document for use in establishing compliance with building code (1) The chief executive may, by notice in the Gazette , issue a document for use in establishing compliance with the…
Section 23 — Effect of compliance documents
23 Effect of compliance documents A person may comply with a compliance document in order to comply with the provisions of the building code to which the document relates, but doing so is not the…
Section 24 — Chief executive may amend or revoke compliance documents
24 Chief executive may amend or revoke compliance documents (1) The chief executive may, by notice in the Gazette , amend or revoke a compliance document at any time. (2) If subsection (1) applies,…
Section 25 — Content of compliance document
25 Content of compliance document (1) A compliance document must state— (a) the date on which the document comes into force; and (b) whether the document, or parts of it, applies to building work for…
Section 25A — Compliance documents to be available on Ministry's website
25A Compliance documents to be available on Ministry's website (1) The chief executive must ensure that— (a) promptly after a new compliance document is issued, a digital copy is publicly available…
Section 26 — Chief executive may issue warning about, or ban use of, building methods or products
26 Chief executive may issue warning about, or ban use of, building methods or products (1) This section applies if the chief executive considers on reasonable grounds that the use of a building…
Section 27 — Offence to use building method or product in breach of ban under section 26
27 Offence to use building method or product in breach of ban under section 26 (1) A person must not use a building method or product if doing so breaches a ban under section 26 . (2) A person…
Section 28 — Limits on certain powers of building consent authority in cases involving bans under section 26
28 Limits on certain powers of building consent authority in cases involving bans under section 26 (1) A building consent authority must not exercise any of the powers specified in subsection (2) if…
Section 29 — Procedural requirements for compliance documents, warnings, and bans
29 Procedural requirements for compliance documents, warnings, and bans (1) This section applies if the chief executive proposes to— (a) issue a compliance document; or (b) amend or revoke a…
Section 30 — Procedural requirements for urgent compliance documents, warnings, and bans
30 Procedural requirements for urgent compliance documents, warnings, and bans (1) If section 29(5) applies, the chief executive must— (a) consult on the document, warning, or ban (as the case may…
Section 31 — Building consent authority must apply for project information memorandum
31 Building consent authority must apply for project information memorandum (1) A building consent authority must,— (a) on receiving an application for a building consent, apply for a project…
Section 32 — Owner may apply for project information memorandum
32 Owner may apply for project information memorandum An owner may apply to a territorial authority for a project information memorandum for building work if— (a) the owner is considering carrying…
Section 33 — Content of application
33 Content of application (1) An application for a project information memorandum must be in the prescribed form and be accompanied by— (a) the application charge fixed by the territorial authority;…
Section 34 — Issue of project information memorandum
34 Issue of project information memorandum (1) A territorial authority must issue a project information memorandum within 20 working days after receiving an application under section 31(1)(a) or…
Section 35 — Content of project information memorandum
35 Content of project information memorandum (1) A project information memorandum must include— (a) information likely to be relevant to the proposed building work that identifies— (i) the heritage…
Section 36 — Territorial authority may attach development contribution notice to project information memorandum
36 Territorial authority may attach development contribution notice to project information memorandum If a territorial authority considers that a development contribution under the Local Government…
Section 37 — Territorial authority must attach additional certificate to project information memorandum
37 Territorial authority must attach additional certificate to project information memorandum (1) This section applies if a territorial authority considers that— (a) a resource consent under the…
Section 38 — Territorial authority must give copy of project information memorandum in certain circumstances
38 Territorial authority must give copy of project information memorandum in certain circumstances If a project information memorandum contains information previously supplied to a territorial…
Section 39 — Territorial authority must advise New Zealand Historic Places Trust in certain circumstances
39 Territorial authority must advise New Zealand Historic Places Trust in certain circumstances (1) If the conditions set out in subsection (2) apply, a territorial authority must advise the New…
Section 40 — Buildings not to be constructed, altered, demolished, or removed without consent
40 Buildings not to be constructed, altered, demolished, or removed without consent (1) A person must not carry out any building work except in accordance with a building consent. (2) A person…
Section 41 — Building consent not required in certain cases
41 Building consent not required in certain cases (1) Despite section 40 , a building consent is not required in relation to— (a) a Crown building or Crown building work to which, under section 6 ,…
Section 42 — Owner must apply for certificate of acceptance if building work carried out urgently
42 Owner must apply for certificate of acceptance if building work carried out urgently (1) If, in reliance on section 41(1)(c) , building work is carried out without a building consent having been…
Section 43 — Building consent not required for energy work
43 Building consent not required for energy work (1) Energy work does not require a building consent. (2) However, the following energy work requires a building consent: (a) energy work that relates…
Section 44 — When to apply for building consent
44 When to apply for building consent (1) An owner intending to carry out building work must, before the building work begins, apply for a building consent to a building consent authority that is…
Section 45 — How to apply for building consent
45 How to apply for building consent (1) An application for a building consent must— (a) be in the prescribed form; and (b) be accompanied by plans and specifications that are— (i) required by…
Section 46 — Copy of certain applications for building consent must be provided to New Zealand Fire Service Commission
46 Copy of certain applications for building consent must be provided to New Zealand Fire Service Commission (1) This section applies to an application for a building consent that is of a kind…
Section 47 — New Zealand Fire Service Commission may give advice on applications under section 46
47 New Zealand Fire Service Commission may give advice on applications under section 46 (1) The New Zealand Fire Service Commission may, within 10 working days after receiving a copy of an…
Section 48 — Processing application for building consent
48 Processing application for building consent (1) A building consent authority must, within 20 working days after receiving an application for a building consent that complies with section 45 ,— (a)…
Section 49 — Grant of building consent
49 Grant of building consent (1) A building consent authority must grant a building consent if it is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the provisions of the building code would be met if the…
Section 50 — Refusal of application for building consent
50 Refusal of application for building consent If a building consent authority refuses to grant an application for a building consent, the building consent authority must give the applicant written…
Section 51 — Issue of building consent
51 Issue of building consent (1) A building consent must— (a) be issued in the prescribed form; and (b) have attached to it a copy of— (i) the project information memorandum for the building work to…
Section 52 — Lapse of building consent
52 Lapse of building consent A building consent lapses and is of no effect if the building work to which it relates does not commence within— (a) 12 months after the date of issue of the building…
Section 53 — Applicant for building consent liable to pay levy
53 Applicant for building consent liable to pay levy (1) An applicant for a building consent is liable to pay to the chief executive a levy for, or in connection with, the performance of the chief…
Section 54 — Building consent authority must advise applicant of amount of levy payable
54 Building consent authority must advise applicant of amount of levy payable A building consent authority must, before it grants a building consent, advise the applicant of the amount of levy for…
Section 55 — Exemption from levy
55 Exemption from levy Despite section 53 , an applicant for a building consent is not liable to pay a levy if the building work for which the building consent is issued has an estimated value of…
Section 56 — Payment of levy sufficient unless estimated value of building work changes
56 Payment of levy sufficient unless estimated value of building work changes If a levy has already been paid for building work for which a building consent is granted, no further levy is payable for…
Section 57 — Payment of levy if building work completed in stages
57 Payment of levy if building work completed in stages (1) If building work is, or is proposed to be, completed in stages, the estimated value of the building work must be taken, for the purpose of…
Section 58 — Liability to pay levy: building consent authority
58 Liability to pay levy: building consent authority (1) A building consent authority, on the grant of a building consent, becomes liable to the territorial authority for the levy payable under…
Section 59 — Liability to pay levy: territorial authority
59 Liability to pay levy: territorial authority (1) A territorial authority, on granting a building consent or on receiving all or any of the information specified in section 238(1)(c) , becomes…
Section 60 — Territorial authority may retain part of levy
60 Territorial authority may retain part of levy (1) A territorial authority may retain 3% of the levies for which the territorial authority is liable, under section 59 , in any month. (2) Subsection…
Section 61 — Chief executive may recover unpaid levies from territorial authority
61 Chief executive may recover unpaid levies from territorial authority (1) The consequences specified in subsection (2) apply if a territorial authority that is liable to pay levies to the chief…