Building Inspections

Overview

At various stages during construction you will need to arrange for a Building Officer to inspect what has been done in order to ensure that your building work complies with the consented documents.

Your building consent is granted subject to the condition that it will be inspected by an agent of the Building Consent Authority (BCA).

A list of required inspections will be included with your Building Consent. This may not be a full list of the required inspections as additional inspections may be needed depending on the circumstances of your build (construction methods, etc).

Please print the approved plans and specifications and keep the hard copy on site.

For further information, check out Building Consent Steps Inspecting and Certifying Consented Building Work(PDF, 294KB)

Reference: Building Inspection Q&A

When to book an inspection

A list of required inspections will be included with your Building Consent. You need to book these as each stage of work is completed. Call the Council and make an appointment as soon as you are ready for the inspection. Council requires a minimum of 48 hours’ notice. All inspections can be booked by phoning 03 4331679.

When you make your booking, you will need to supply the following information:

• your Building Consent number
• the site location/address
• the type of inspection required; and
• the name and contact phone number of the person who will be on-site at the time of inspection

All Building Consent documents and any approved amendments must also be on-site at the time of inspection.

Once construction begins, it is your responsibility to ensure Council inspects the project according to the schedule set out in the building consent.

Types of inspections

Download Inspection Types List(PDF, 166KB)

Inspection schedule and maps

We can book the inspection (subject to availability) on your requested date, and to avoid delays onsite, please submit your request at least 2 days in advance.

Inspections are carried out between 8am and 5pm. You can find the inspection schedule and the area maps below.

 

Inspection schedule

Inspection areas	Time
Waitaki Valley up to Ohau	Tuesdays and Thursdays
South to Palmerston	Mondays and Wednesdays
Oamaru Town	Every weekday

Inspection area maps:

If you have a preferred time and date of inspection, please specify when you contact us. However, we cannot guarantee that this will be available but will endeavour to book your inspection as close to this time and date as possible.

Stamped, approved consented plans and supporting documents (as sent by Council) must be available on-site during the inspection. An inspection will not proceed if these are not provided.

A building inspector will contact you on the day of the inspection to confirm their estimated time of arrival.

If you wish to change or cancel your inspection, please call our Building Administration team on 03 433 1679.

What to expect on inspection day

On inspection day, you must provide access for inspectors and you or your agent need to be on site with consented plans and associated documentation. Building consent authorities can refuse to undertake an inspection if a copy of the approved consent documentation is not available. These should always be on site anyway to be used as the ‘building plans’ by your builder and other contractors.

You or your representative need to:

• respond to any requests from the inspector, so that they can give you approval to proceed
• following an inspection, check the recording of inspection findings to see whether the work passed or failed and that all inspections performed are listed
• if the work passed, continue with your work
• if the work failed, fix all areas of non-compliance and arrange another inspection within the advised timeframe.

Building consent authority inspection requirements will vary with the size and complexity of each project.

Meeting the requirements of the Building Consent and Building Code

Re-inspections may be required if the Building Officer is not satisfied that the work meets the consented documents and the requirements of the Building Consent and the Building Code. This may incur additional charges if inspections exceed those estimated when you received your Building Consent application.

The work must be carried out in accordance with your approved Building Consent. If you wish to change some aspect of the project, you must first obtain an amendment to the Building Consent before the work is carried out. The process for obtaining and amendment is the same as obtaining the original consent. It is very important that at the time of inspection the Building Consent documents accurately reflect what has actually been built.

If the work has not been done in accordance with the Building Consent, the Building Officer will fail the inspection and issue a copy of the inspection record stating what is required to be done. Ensure any outstanding items have been addressed before booking the next inspection. Conditional continuation of work may be agreed for building work not related or impacted by the failed result.

If work complies with the Building Consent, the Building Officer will pass the inspection and issue a copy of the inspection record.

Final inspections

When all the planned work is completed and inspections are complete, book your final inspection. Make sure you have copies of all the documents that were supplied with your application. They must be on-site at the time of your final inspection.

Council is happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the building consent process. You can get in touch with the Building team by phoning 03 433 0300. Alternatively, you can email Building@waitaki.govt.nz.

Notice to Fix (NTF)

A NTF is a formal notice issued by the building consent authority advising that certain works have not been carried out in accordance with the building consent approved plans or the Code/Act. If a NTF is issued you must address the issues identified within the prescribed timeframe to prevent further action being taken. Typically a NTF will be issued for serious or ongoing breaches. If a NTF is issued, documentation identifying and explaining the process and an invoice will accompany it.

A notice to fix may:

• require the owner to apply for a building consent, or for an amendment to an existing building consent
• require the owner to apply for a certificate of acceptance for building work without a building consent
• state that all or any building work must cease immediately until the responsible authority is satisfied that the specified person is able and willing to resume operations in compliance with the Building Act 2004 and Regulations.

Further information can be found on Acting on a Notice to Fix.

Building infringement notice

Building infringement notices are issued by the building consent authority to any person who commits an offence by not complying with certain provisions of the Building Act. These provisions are specified in the Building (Infringement Offences, Fees and Forms) Regulations that came into force in 2007.

Compliments, Complaints and Determinations

If you have any queries, concerns or complaints, please see the information on Compliments, Complaints and Determinations.