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Waikato District Council - Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

The building consents process gives us a chance to work together with you, providing advice on what you need to know and do, to achieve your goals within the regulatory requirements of the Building Act 2004, as well as the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), and our District Plan. 

You WILL need to apply for a building consent if your project involves:

  • Construction and demolition
  • Alteration of buildings
  • Conversion of buildings
  • Site works
  • Swimming pools
  • Fences
  • Signs
  • Plumbing
  • Drainage
  • Solid fuel heaters
  • Solar Heaters.

(If you have a pool and aren't sure if you are on our Pool Register, contact us on 0800 492 452 or email info@waidc.govt.nz).

When carrying out these activities, you need to be aware of how your building project may affect services and facilities such as water, wastewater, stormwater and other infrastructure and engineering standards. 

There are some instances where you DO NOT need a building consent.

To find you more have a look through the Building (Exempt Building Work) Order 2020 or contact us on 0800 492 452 or 07 824 8633 and ask to speak with a member of our Building Team.

You may not need a building consent but there are still rules you will need to follow.

You will still need to comply with the rules in the Waikato District Plan. If it doesn’t meet one of the rules in the District Plan, you will need to apply for a resource consent.

Here are some things you should check:

  • Setback, coverage, daylighting rules:
    • Is your new structure too close to the boundary?
    • Does your land size allow an additional building?
    • Does it comply with height to boundary rules? These rules take into account shading caused by buildings.

Online District Plan

You can get this information from our online District Plan

View now

If you are unsure if you need to apply for a building consent, please contact our Building Quality team on 0800 492 452 or email info@waidc.govt.nz.

Note, in addition to building consent requirements there may also be resource consent requirements. Find out how to apply for resource consents.

As a member of the Waikato Building Consent Group our Building Quality team is here to help you every step of the way. We work together with the other seven councils within the group, to bring consistency to the building consent process and make life easier for you by guiding you through the building consent process.

Our Building Quality team currently receives and issues around 2,000 building consents per year, along with consents for a wide range of building related projects, from wood burning heaters to multi-storey buildings. The team also:

  • provides advice and assistance around the building consents process
  • processes the consents
  • carries out building inspections
  • records and monitors building warrants of fitness
  • ensures the provisions of the Building (Pools) Amendment Act 2016 are complied with. 

Contact our Building Quality team if:

  • you'd like to sit down and chat with us first before beginning your building consent application
  • you require more information and/or advice when preparing your application or after your application has been submitted
  • you'd like to request a building inspection.

Our main office in Ngaruawahia deals with all building related enquiries, including booking inspection appointments and Certificates of Public Use, Notice to Fix, Infringements and Unauthorised Building Work Notices. We also have Building Quality team staff including inspectors in our Tuakau office who will pick up these enquiries from our main office as appropriate.

Building inspectors are available by appointment. 

Book a building inspection

To help with processing efficiency, our building consent processing officers (building, engineering, planning) focus solely on processing applications between 10.00am - 3.00pm each day. If you call between these times with a processing question we’ll take a message and a processing officer will get back to you. Our building consent processing officers aim to respond to phone and email enquiries before 10.00am the next business day.

Waikato Building Consents Group website

The Waikato Building Consents Group website is for anyone who is working in the local building industry or is involved in a building project, large or small. The group website provides extensive information on the building consent process, building consent requirements and other information, including:

A Project Information Memorandum (PIM) report helps to identify the feasibility of a specific project on a piece of land under the requirements of the Building Act 2004 and any other necessary authorisations being obtained, such as a resource consent under the Resource Management Act 1991.

It's not compulsory to get one, but it's a really good idea to do so in the early stages of your building project as a separate process to your building consent, to make sure you don't end up spending extra time and money on re-design further down the track.

Once you have your PIM, give it to your designer and/or developer so they can use it to clarify what will be involved in a project before you go on to full design stage.

PIMs include information on special features, including those listed below.

  • District Plan zoning.
  • Land hazards.
  • Wind zones.
  • Hazardous contaminants.
  • Water, stormwater or waste water utility systems relevant to your site/project.

It also identifies any additional approvals required such as:

  • Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (heritage buildings/sites).
  • Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ). 

How to apply for a PIM report

You can apply for a PIM through the Build Waikato website.

Apply for a PIM

Validity of your PIM

A PIM does not give any form of approval under the District Plan or Building Act 2004, nor does it authorise you to start work on your project. Any building project should comply with our District Plan. If it doesn't, you'll need to get resource consent (LINK).

A PIM is not the same as a Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report - LIMs have a different use and purpose.

Cost

The cost of your PIM will depend on the value of your project. Fees are charged based on one of three categories:

Projects valued up to $20,000 - $160.00.

Projects valued over $20,000 and up to $1M - $330.00.

Projects valued over $1M - $410.00.

For full details see our fees and charges schedule.

The Council costs of processing a building consent will vary depending on what you’ve applied for and how complex your application and its assessment might be. Processes can involve a combination of fixed fees, hourly rates, and development contributions. It also depends on the overall value of the works. There are also costs for any inspections that are required to ensure compliance with consents.​

Ensuring you supply the complete information and documentation required with your consent application is one area where your efforts can keep time and costs down at the processing end.​

You may be required to pay a development contribution to the Council when developing or requiring new services for a property. The Waikato district is experiencing rapid growth in some areas and this growth can only be sustained if those prompting the growth contribute to the cost of new or expanded infrastructure that supports that growth.

See our fees and charges schedule and Development Contributions Policy which will help you get a general idea of likely costs (bearing in mind the factors noted above).

The Waikato Building Consent Group website also has a summary of the components included in building consent fees and charges and also links to fees and charges information in relation to all seven councils within the group.

Last updated 14 July 2025, 03:02 pm

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