Inspection Requirements

The Council undertake inspections for the purposes of establishing if the work has been completed to the extent required by the consent and also to ensure that the work complies with the building Code.

Inspection Requirements

Consents

Every consent is issued with a condition that the Council may inspect during normal working hours or when work is taking place.
An inspection means the taking of all reasonable steps to determine whether building work is being carried out in accordance with a building consent.
The building consent will list the inspections required for the project.

Missed inspections

If inspections are missed Council may be unable to issue the Code compliance Certificate when the work is completed.

In person and remote inspections

In most cases the inspection will involve the inspector visiting the site and meeting the appropriate people on the site. On some occasions the inspection may occur over the phone using a programme called zyte. This is a remote inspection tool. This is generally only used for minor elements.

Drains

It is important to ensure that drains are not backfilled before a council inspection. If the drains are backfilled without Council approval, Council may require the drains to be dug up so that the inspection can occur.

Photographs

We are often asked if work can be photographed rather than inspected. Typically no, unless this is arrange with an inspector beforehand.

Approved plans

At the inspection the inspector will check the work against the approved plans and check to make sure previous inspections have occurred and been passed.
They will record the inspection into the computer and take photos of the work. Once the inspection is completed the inspection record will be emailed to the relevant people.
When the inspector arrives the plans etc must be available on site. A copy on a cell phone isn’t acceptable. The inspector will leave, and you will still be charged.

Site access

The site must be safe for the inspector to enter, please put dogs away if they can be a nuisance during the inspection. There should also be someone available on the job that can discuss the project with the inspector where needed. You need to provide access that is safe to use for the inspector.

Inspection outcome

Typically the outcome of the inspection could be a pass or a fail. A fail isn’t necessarily a bad outcome depending on the circumstances. It may simply mean some components of that inspection weren’t completed when the inspector was there. In many cases the inspector will allow the work to continue even though a fail is recorded. This is sometimes referred to as a “conditional continuation”. If the inspector is not satisfied that the work meets the requirements of the building consent a re-inspection may be required at additional cost.

Enforcement

Where the work is not being done to the consent or does not comply with the code and this cannot be resolved on site Council have some enforcement options that we can use. These are typically an act of last resort. We can issue infringement notices, an instant fine, or a notice to fix. Notices to fix are formal notices that identify any breaches of the Building Act, Building Code or Building Regulations. The notice will define the breach and provide a timeframe in which the issues must be fixed.

Typical inspection types

Typical inspection include but are not limited to:

• Underslab plumbing,
• prepour before concrete is placed,
• precladding before cladding/wraps and sticky tapes and cavity battens are installed,
• preline building and plumbing, before internal linings are installed,
• drainage, before drains are backfilled
• post line, before plaster and painting occurs
• wet area membranes – before tiles are installed in showers or before retaining walls are backfilled.
• Final inspection , when all the work is completed

Booking an inspection

Contact us to book and inspection phone through to the building team.

Please have the following information handy:

• address for inspection
• type of inspection required
• building consent number (this is a unique number given to each building consent)
• name and contact number of person who will be on site
• preferred time

Inspections will not be done on the same day. Book your inspections early but allow no less than 24-48 hours. Giving as much notice as possible means that you are more likely to get a time that best suits you.

Specifically for drainlayers, if you backfill drains without council approval you may be required to dig them up or the CCC will be refused. Do not wait until the last minute to get an inspection. Remember other people have booked in advance and they wont be disadvantaged.

Where your work is on a residential property, you will need to provide documentation from a licensed building practitioner. Licensed building practitioners are licensed by the Ministry of Business innovation and employment to design and build restricted building work. LBPs are building practitioners who have been assessed as competent to carry out building work essential to the structure or weathertightness of residential buildings. Information on the LBP scheme can be found here  https://www.lbp.govt.nz/

Homeowners can still do their own work on their own houses however there are some specific rules that apply, and owners will need to supply a form for an owner builder exemption.

Visit Obligations and responsibilities of owner-builders and their building project at the Building Performance website for more information.