Book an inspection Tāpui mātaitanga

The Inspection Process

Granting of a building consent is conditional on enabling the building work to be inspected.

How do I book an inspection?

Building inspections are booked through the Inspection Line on 06 835 1545. The inspection line is available 24/7 and operates an answer phone outside normal working hours (8am - 5pm). All inspections need to be booked in advance and wait times will vary throughout the year.

Inspections are booked Monday – Friday between 8:30am and 4:00pm (excluding public holidays).

You will be required to provide us with the following information when booking an inspection:

• Building consent number.
• Site address.
• Name and phone number of contact person on site.
• Date and time the inspection is requested.
• Type of inspection, e.g. plumbing, drainage, foundation, pre-slab, preline, etc.

It is your (or your builders/tradespersons) responsibility to book an inspection.

Typical inspections

When your application is being processed your project is assessed to determine what inspections are necessary to enable us to be satisfied on reasonable grounds that compliance will be achieved. A list of inspections required are included on your Building Consent.

Typical inspections include: 

• Siting and Site Scrape Inspection - checking the location of the building on site (a surveyors report or visible boundary markers) and checking the removal of vegetation.
• Prepour / foundation – check ground bearing, reinforcing etc before placing any concrete for foundation walls or footings
• Wastepipes - checking plumbing in/under the floor slab (also called subfloor P&D)
• Floor Slab - before placing any concrete for concrete floor slabs and any integral footings
• Block work - before pouring any concrete in masonry block walls
• External tanking - checking block walls including basements
• Subfloor framing - before covering any subfloor framing
• Framing / Pre-wrap - checking all connections and framing before it is covered (ready to roof)
• Concrete / Tilt Panel / Steel frame - viewing specific design components for concrete/tilt panel/steel framing against the approved plans and specifications
• Post-wrap / Cavity - check upon completion of the building wrap with flashings/tapes installed and before fitting any external cladding
• Deck / Roof membrane - checking framing substrates and fixings
• Pre-plaster - checking prior to plaster coatings installation
• Half High Brick - when the brick work reaches half its height before completion
• Preline plumbing - plumbing systems before any linings and insulation (also called pipe out or frame P&D)
• Preline building - before fitting internal linings or installing wet area membranes, air seals fitted internally around joinery, bracing connections complete
• Post line - while fixings are still visible (bracing, fire wall fixings)
• Drainage - testing any drainage work prior to back filling and before covering any field drains
• Retaining wall - checking that retaining wall has been constructed as per specific design on plans and specifications
• Solid Fuel Heater - checking that the solid fuel heater has been installed as per the specifications
• Chimney In-built - to check existing brick chimney is in a good condition
• Final P+D or Final building - final inspection on completion of all building work to check that the work complies with the approved plans and specifications

Inspections by others

Sometimes it is necessary for specialists to conduct inspections in addition to the inspections carried out by the Building Consent Authority. If a specialist inspection is necessary you will generally be advised before the consent is issued. Typically these types of inspections may involve having a geotechnical engineer confirm ground stability, or having an aspect of specific structural design checked by a registered engineer.

Please ensure you read inspection requirements and special conditions and are familiar with them before commencing work.

On-site requirements for inspections

For an inspection to take place, the approved plans and documentation must be available on site. The Building Consents Officer will be inspecting the building work against these approved documents. If we arrive on site and the documentation is not available we will not undertake the inspection. We will however bill you for our time.

If work is not ready to be inspected, the officer will either fail the inspection or walk away and not carry out the inspection. In either case, you will have to book another one. If you are not ready, please cancel the inspection so that the time slot can be used by someone else. Repeat inspections will incur additional costs.

Arrange safe access to the building or building work. The Building Consents Officer may refuse to undertake inspections if the site is deemed unsafe or access is unsuitable. Safe access must be supplied to “off the ground” areas.

It is preferable that the owner or an agent be available on site for all inspections. While we appreciate that this may not always be possible it is mandatory that for final inspections the owner or their representative is on site.

How building work is inspected and recorded

During an inspection, the building officer checks that the construction complies with the approved plans and specifications for the building consent. Inspection checklists are completed during the inspection. All items listed, big or small, must be compliant with the approved building consent documents (plans and specifications) in order for the Building Consents Officer to pass the inspection. The inspection results are automatically saved into the system.

At the end of an inspection, the outcome of the inspection is given verbally and the inspection report is emailed to the owner/agent and tradesperson.

What if the inspection has not been approved?

If an inspection has failed, a verbal instruction will be given and confirmed by email. Another inspection will be required to inspect the remedial work. Work may be stopped at this stage or a conditional continuation may be approved. All re-inspections may be charged.

If the work is not remedied to the satisfaction of the Building Consents Officer, a notice to fix may be issued.

What is a notice to fix?

A Council must issue a notice to fix for any work that doesn't meet the requirements of the Building Act 2004 or Building Regulations, which includes the Building Code. For example a notice to fix may be issued for building work not carried out in accordance with a current building consent or perhaps work that does not comply with the Building Code. A notice to fix is the commencement of formal proceedings to achieve compliance with the Building Act or Regulations. If a notice to fix is issued, a letter explaining the process will accompany the notice to fix.
A notice to fix is issued to a specified person/s. A specified person may be:

• The owner.
• The person/s carrying out the building work.
• Any other person/s supervising the building work.

The notice to fix will:

• Specify the contravention.
• Specify what is required to remedy the contravention.
• State a time frame within which it must be complied with.
• Require the specified person to contact Council when the required remedy has been completed.

It is an offence under section 168 of the Building Act 2004 failing to comply with a notice to fix.

Enforcement of notices to fix is undertaken by the Territorial Authority.

Changes to the project once underway

Should it become necessary to change the design part way through the project a formal application to amend the building consent will be necessary, this will follow the same process as a building consent application by submission through the AlphaOne portal. Changes such as repositioning a door, bracing element or substituting a material for a similar product (e.g. interior linings) are considered minor variations. As-built plans for minor variations are also required to be submitted via the AlphaOne portal as an amendment, however will be approved at vetting provided all necessary information has been supplied.

Do I need a final inspection?

Yes, all building consents require a final inspection.

Your consented building work should be completed within two years of the date that the building consent was granted.

If you cannot complete the work within this timeframe it is essential that you contact us to discuss an extension of time.

What do I need to have done before the final inspection?

Make sure that you have completed the following:

• Address any issues that have been identified in any of the previous inspections.
• Addressed all relevant areas listed on the final inspection checklists.
• All wet areas need to be finished.
• All exterior areas need to be painted (if applicable).
• The building work has to be completely finished.
• All required documentation for your project has been completed in full and is ready to submit to the council. Check your building consent as it will list the documents required e.g. producer statements, as builts, 6As 

The owner also needs to complete an application for a Code Compliance Certificate.