Building inspections

A list of inspections will be included with your Building Consent. Please read these before you start any building work. As owner/agent, it is your responsibility, to let the Council know when these stages have been reached.

Inspections include but are not limited to: 

• under-slab drainage
• pre-pour floor (before concrete is poured, for example, for piles, footings, slabs, in situ walls or blockwork infill) 
• tanking / waterproofing (before backfilling retaining walls, covering membranes on decks or laying tiles in wet areas such as showers)
• framing (before wrapping the building in building paper or building wrap and installing the cladding)
• wrap and cavity
• post-clad (before applying coatings to fibre cement or polystyrene systems, possibly including inspections during plastering)
• pre-line (with insulation installed but before installing internal linings. This inspection may include checking the plumbing installation under pressure test)
• post line for inspection of bracing elements
• drainage (before filling in trenches and covering the in-ground pipework), pipework must be under test for this inspection. Testing can include smoke, air or water testing.
• pre-final on commercial builds to check specified systems – inspection required prior to final inspection to check life saving features in the building
• final inspection for plumbing, building and drainage work (once the work described in the building consent is complete).
  

Generally, gas and electrical work is not inspected as it must be done by a licensed professional. On completion of the work, they will give you a signed energy work certificate. Keep all energy work certificates safe and on site with your other project documentation. You will need to provide a copy of this certificate at the time of final inspection.   

The owner or their agent needs to be on site at the time of the inspection together with the consented plans and associated documentation (building consent, plans and specifications).

All building officers have undertaken Site Safety training so that they can recognise existing hazards and remain safe while carrying out their duties. They are required by Council (under the Health and Safety at work Act 2015, to take reasonable care for their own health and safety. Therefore, if the officer perceives the building site to be dangerous, they can refuse to carry out the inspection until the risk has been removed or mitigated.

Please ensure that safe access is available for our inspectors, including scaffolding and ladders where applicable to allow the inspection to take place. Failure to provide safe and reasonable access may result in a failed inspection.

During an inspection, the building inspector checks that the construction complies with the approved plans and specifications for the building consent. They note down their findings on inspection checklists. These go on the property file when they return to the office. At the end of an inspection, they communicate the inspection outcome by sending a copy of the checklist to the site contact.

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. 

Agreement with the building inspector for the continuation of building work for certain areas that are unaffected by or associated with non-compliant building work may be formed.  However, the non-compliant building work must be fixed and then checked by a building inspector for compliance with the issued building consent within the advised timeframe. 

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

Your building consent will identify if specialist inspections are required by third parties (e.g. engineers) or whether supporting documentation (e.g. survey certificates, electrical certificates, drainage as-built plans) and the like is required.

If you are required to provide a PS4 for ground conditions or structural engineering, it is expected that your engineer will leave a copy of their inspection notes on site and that these are available for the inspector at the time of inspection. On conclusion of the inspection, you will need to provide a copy of these notes together with the PS4 as soon as practically possible to building.enquires@waidc.govt.nz.

Failure to provide this information may result in your inspection being failed and progress on your consent being stopped.

All building consents require a final inspection, even if it is a marquee for a temporary event.  The purpose of this inspection is to check that the completed building complies with the approved building consent documentation. As soon as you are certain that the building project has been completed, book a final inspection with the Council. Remember to allow time for the availability of inspectors.

• Application for CCC submitted
• All documentation has been provided
• All inspections completed and no outstanding items
• All building work is completed
• All interior painting and decorating complete
• Hot water on
• Power on
• All ground levels established
• All exterior painting complete.

If you are unable to complete your building work within 2 years from the date that the building consent was granted, you can apply to Council to extend this time frame.

If we don’t hear from you before 2 years, or any further agreed extension of time, Council must decide whether to issue or refuse your Code Compliance Certificate (under section 93(b) of the Building Act 2004). If we decide to refuse the CCC, this does not mean that your consent has lapsed or expired, it simply means that we have met our obligations under the Act.  You can continue work and request inspections.

Apply for an extension of time.

Delays in applying for a CCC can impact our ability to certify the building work, we strongly recommend that you endeavour to complete the work within the prescribed timeframes. 

A variation that is minor is a change that does not usually affect compliance with the Building Code – for example, the type of taps used, the position of kitchen joinery or bathroom fixtures, installation of non-structural walls or doors.

Most often the minor variation does not affect the level of Building Code compliance; it simply achieves the same outcome in a different way.

Examples of variations that are minor to building consents include:

• substituting one internal lining for a similar internal lining
• substituting the type of timber treatment
• minor wall bracing changes
• a change to a component e.g. a fixing bracket
• changing construction details e.g. the framing method around a window when the window is changed to a door
• changing a room’s layout (for example, the position of fixtures in a bathroom or kitchen)
• changing one brand of insulation for another

If you change your plans, you must seek approval from the BCA.  All minor variations that are approved must be recorded in writing.  To seek approval please complete the minor variation application and email to: - building.enquiries@waidc.govt.nz  

A Notice to Fix is a formal notice issued by the Building Consent Authority (Council) advising that certain works have not been carried out in accordance with the Building Act (s163 – 168). If a Notice to Fix is issued you are legally required to address the issues identified within the timeframe stated in the Notice to prevent further enforcement action being taken.