Proposed building consent exemption conditions for granny flats

The Government is moving forward with changes to building consent rules for small standalone dwellings, aka ‘granny flats’. Below is the Government announcement, released 5 April, which details the building consent exemptions expected to be in force by early 2026 

This checklist explains the conditions that you must meet to build small standalone dwellings (also known as granny flats) without a building consent. 

Small standalone dwellings must have a simple design and meet the Building Code. The building must comply fully with all the relevant requirements of the New Zealand Building Code. 

Single storey, standalone and be self-contained 

• ⁠The building must be new and standalone. 

• The building must be single storey. 

• The building is classified as: Housing – detached dwelling (defined by Clause A1 of the Building Code). This means it must: 

• Comply with all the requirements of the Building Code that apply to this classified use. 
• Be intended for a single household or family. 

Building dimensions 

• The net floor area must be no greater than 70m2. 

• The building must have: 

• A maximum floor level of 1m above ground. 

• A maximum height of 4m above the floor level. 

• The building must be 2m or more away from any other structure or legal boundary.  

Construction material 

• The building must be designed and built using lightweight building products for the roof. 

• The frame must be built using light steel or light timber. 

• Wall cladding must have a weight not exceeding 220kg/m2.    

Amenities 

Plumbing and drainage works should be simple and designed and built in accordance with the Acceptable Solutions for compliance with these clauses of the Building Code: 

• Clause E1 Surface water. 

• Clause G12 Water supplies. 

• Clause G13 Foul water. 

Plumbing and drainage systems must connect to network utility operator services (NUOs) where available. Where NUOs are not available, onsite water systems are exempt from requiring a building consent. 

The building must have: 

• Interconnected smoke alarms throughout. 

• Independent points of supply for electricity and gas (where applicable). 

• Electric or gas heaters. 

Level-entry showers are permitted only after a relevant licence class has been established. 

MultiProof and BuiltReady exemptions 

Buildings designed and built under the MultiProof or BuiltReady schemes will automatically comply with some proposed exemption conditions.  

Building practitioners 

All work on a building must be carried out or supervised by licensed building professionals (Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) and licensed plumbers, drainlayers, gasfitters and electricians). 

All building work must have a Record of Work (RoW), Certificate of Work (CoW) and energy work certificate. A new record of work form is proposed for plumbing and drainlaying work on exempt small standalone dwellings. 

For small standalone dwellings, energy work certificates may include certificates of compliance, electrical safety certificates and gas safety certificates.   

Council notification 

You must notify your council before you start to build and when building is complete. 

Building owners must notify their council of their intention to build via a request for a Project Information Memorandum (PIM). This will be through a new or updated PIM form. This enables councils to share relevant information with owners and supports the collection of development contributions. 

Councils must advise homeowners on whether the proposed building work is likely, unlikely or uncertain to meet the proposed building consent exemption. However, this is not an approval process and homeowners can choose to build irrespective of council advice.  

Building owners must provide councils, on completion of work, a set of plans (for both building and plumbing and drainage work). These plans must include any changes that occurred between the initial design and the completion of the build. This is an administrative process, and councils cannot review built plans to determine if a small standalone dwelling complies with the Building Code. 

Building on land where a natural hazard exists, as defined by section 71(3) of the Building Act 2004, may require a building consent. Land subject to a natural hazard would require a building consent unless a council is of the view that the provisions of section 71(2) would otherwise apply. 

Owners must meet all building consent exemption conditions. Otherwise, owners are required to get a building consent. Existing building work underway is not eligible to be exempt from requiring a building consent. Councils retain their existing powers to address non-compliant building work.