How Work is Certified

The Code Compliance Certificate confirms that the completed building work has been built in accordance with the approved Building Consent documents and complies with the Building Code. A Code Compliance Certificate is issued by a Building Consent Authority. A Code Compliance Certificate is issued by a Building Consent Authority as a requirement under section 95 of the Building Act 2004.

An owner must apply to a building consent authority for a Code Compliance Certificate after all building work to be carried out under a building consent granted to that owner is completed.

Once your application is accepted the BCA has 20 working days to decide whether to issue a Code Compliance Certificate.

We strongly advise that the owner gets the final inspection passed before applying for the Code Compliance Certificate as they can then be confident that all the work required by the building consent has actually been completed and less time will be wasted during the Code Compliance Certificate process.

If an inspection has failed because the work is incomplete or non-compliant, this will be communicated to you. Another inspection will be required to inspect the remedial work.

If building work is completed but not compliant, a Notice to Fix may be issued. MBIE Guidance here 

The application documentation can be submitted by email, mail, at council front counter or given to the building inspector on site.  We strongly recommend that you check that you have all the documentation required and that it is complete prior to making the application for Code Compliance Certificate.  See below:

• Complete the Code Compliance Certificate application form (Form 6). The application must be made by the owner as soon as possible after the project has been completed. Passing the final inspection signals that all the work required by the building consent has been completed.
• Supply all of the third party certification paperwork that has been requested as a condition of the building consent e.g. producer statements, as-laid plumbing/drainage plans, specified system installation/certification certificates (if relevant). These documents provide additional information that the officer considers in making the Code Compliance Certificate decision.
• The following documents MUST be included with the application for Code Compliance Certificate:
  • Any energy certificates (electrical and /or gas) otherwise Council can refuse to issue a Code Compliance Certificate under s94(3) of the Building Act 2004
  • All records of work if the project involved restricted building work. These MUST be supplied when the Code Compliance Certificate is applied for otherwise the Council could refuse to accept the application. (s92 of the Building Act 2004)
• If development contributions were required for this building consent, make sure that these are paid otherwise Council can refuse to issue a Code Compliance Certificate
• Pay any fees and charges imposed by the building consent authority under section 219 or 240(as applicable).

Prior to lodging your application for Code Compliance Certificate, Council will be checking that the documentation required by the building consent has been received and is complete and that all fees have been paid. The application for Code Compliance Certificate can then be lodged and processed. During the processing of a Code Compliance Certificate application, the Council may request further reasonable information regarding the building consent through the request for information (RFI) process. Where a RFI is made, the Council stops/suspends counting of statutory working days in which it is required to process a consent from the day after the RFI is made. The Council will restart the counting of the statutory working days from the next working day after the requested information is received once all of the information requested in an RFI has been received and the information is sufficient and adequate to support a decision being made by the Council.

The building consent authority will issue the Code Compliance Certificate if it is satisfied, on reasonable grounds,

• that the building work complies with the building consent and Building Code; and
• that,—
  • in a case where a compliance schedule is required as a result of the building work, the specified systems in the building are capable of performing to the performance standards set out in the building consent; or
  • in a case where an amendment to an existing compliance schedule is required as a result of the building work, the specified systems that are being altered in, or added to, the building in the course of the building work are capable of performing to the performance standards set out in the building consent.

If the project is a commercial building with specified systems, the Compliance Schedule will be issued on the same day as the Code Compliance Certificate.

Fees will be calculated and a deposit may be required when you lodge your application and the remainder paid prior to consent granting. Some Councils may require all fees paid at lodgement. Fees are based on the value of the project, project type, charges for inspections including mileage, MBIE levy, BRANZ levy, accreditation levy, and document archive fees (a copy must be kept for the life of the building).

Please refer to your council’s Fees & Charges list below:

Hamilton City Council 

Waikato District Council

Waipa District Council

Thames-Coromandel District Council

Matamata-Piako District Council

Waitomo District Council 

Hauraki District Council 

Otorohanga District Council

If no application for Code Compliance Certificate has been made within two years since the Building Consent has been granted, the Council must decide within 20 working days of the 2-year deadline whether to issue or not issue a Code Compliance Certificate. However, if the owner realises that they are not going to complete the project before the two year anniversary they can apply for an extension of time.

Obtaining a Code Compliance Certificate is very important as

• Sale and purchase contracts are often conditional on a Code Compliance Certificate having been issued and the deciding factor in the sale and purchase of a property.
• Not having a Code Compliance Certificate  may also affect your household insurance.

Buyers who obtain a LIM will check whether or not the building(s) matches the information in the LIM.

• Has further work been carried out?
• Is the work consented or illegal?
• Has the work been signed off as compliant with the building consent?
• If the work does not have a Code Compliance Certificate, there will be no Code Compliance Certificate recorded on the LIM.

If you want to sell your property check that any building consent projects have been completed, inspected and that a Code Compliance Certificate has been obtained for the project. If you haven’t checked these when you originally bought the property without getting a LIM, you may not realise that there is an outstanding building consent listed against the property.

It is wise to get a LIM and address any issues well before the property goes on the market.

The owners of buildings with building consents issued under the previous Act may not have applied for a Code Compliance Certificate at the time of project completion. Councils back then were not required to chase up the owners to complete the work or to apply for the Code Compliance Certificate.

The building work is certified against the Building code at the time that the building consent was granted.

Councils still get inquiries about getting a Code Compliance Certificate for these properties. But because of the period of time that has passed and concerns about the durability of some building systems and products used back then, it is up to the Council whether or not they are prepared to issue a Code Compliance Certificate. With these Code Compliance Certificates, there is a limitation on what it will cover. If you are in this situation, make an appointment with your local Council to discuss what is achievable.