Schedule of Fees and Charges : Building Inspections

Council has two key roles in Building Control. One is the processing, inspecting and certification of building work via the Building Consent process.  The other is that of a Territorial Authority with the primary focus on Public Safety. With particular emphasis around Building Warrants of Fitness, Swimming Pools and Earthquake Prone Buildings. In addition to this the TA function deals with illegal buildings, enforcement actions and general guidance.

Council's Consent and Inspections role is independently assessed every two years as a Building Consent Authority. Given the range of building project work that Council processes, a range of fees are applicable.  These usually consist of an initial fee and any further fees required are charged at an hourly rate if technical advice or processing exceeds the initial fee.

These charges apply to all actions of the Council for which a charge may be levied pursuant to Section 219 and 240 of the Building Act 2004. The following outlines general fees for processing Building Consents.  Further detail is provided under headings in the tables below:

Inspection Fees rate duration

All fees for Building Consent Inspections are valid for the two year duration of a building consent. If you require an extension any inspection carried out during the extension period will be at the rate applicable at the date and time of the inspection.

Investigation/Enforcement Fees

The Council will investigate instances of alleged non-compliance with the Building Act 2004, the Building Code and related matters. In the event that an investigation concludes that an offence has occurred, costs associated with such investigations, calculated in accordance with the hourly rate specified above, will be recovered from the offending party or owner of the property on which an offence has occurred. Where a non-compliance with the Building Act, Consent or Building Code requires a Notice to Fix Council will also charge for the cost of the Notice.

Please also note that:

  • The standard fees in this schedule are minimum fees. 
  • An initial deposit fee is required with all Building-related applications. No processing will commence until the deposit fees are paid.
  • The deposit fee is the total of the online system fee, the planning check fee and the processing review fee, and are based on the project value unless otherwise stipulated.
  • Fees associated with processing the building consent cover the lodgement and assessment only.  Inspections, Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) and other professional fees are charged separately.
  • Where the cost of processing significantly exceeds the fee or deposit stipulated below, then an actual time charge shall be payable at the hourly rate as set out in the schedule below.
  • Specialist services (payable at cost) and Central Government levies payable via Council are additional to fees and charges.
  • Building consents will be granted and released once full payment of the fees has been receipted.
  • Council will refund any unused portion of fees for cancelled or withdrawn consents.

All fees and charges are inclusive of GST.

Building InspectionsUnits2022/2023
Assessments of the number of building inspections required will be made as part of the building consent process.
Final inspection fees may also be required for other projects as deemed appropriate by the building inspector or processing officer.
Code Compliance Certificates and associated inspections must be paid prior to the building consent being released.
Fee rates are calculated at the time the consent is approved.
Building Inspection (residential) Per inspection $180.00
Building Final Inspection (residential) Per inspection $250.00
Building Inspection (non-residential) Per inspection $200.00
Building Final Inspection (non-residential) Per inspection $285.00
Building compliance schedule inspection Per inspeciton $300.00
Building inspection same-day cancellation fee Per inspection $180.00
Certificate of Acceptance 
Certificate of Acceptance (COA) applications
For all application types including emergency work		 Per Application COA lodgement deposit based on project value + Actual inspection fees charged at building consent rates + Record of Title + Levies if applicable + COA certificate
*Certificate of Acceptance application additional fees, charges and levies
in terms S96(1)(a) (excludes emergency work)		 Per application See above COA fees + full building consent fees for relevant project value (this includes all fees, charges and levies payable had a building consent been obtained.  current rates apply).
COA per certifier + inspection costs + sundry costs
 Per application $500.00 deposit + inspections + processing costs at building officer hourly rate + COA certificate + if applicable - sundry costs, + online fee + planning check
Building Consent Administration Charges and Levies (subject to the Building Act 2004)
S116A Subdivision Check Per application $170 + hourly rate for additional time
Third Party Report Filing Fee
To place on the property file at owner's request. Eg, Pre-1992 Safe & Sanitary report from Building Surveyor. Note any report received must have a disclaimer in favour of, acceptable to, and indemnifying Council in all respects, put on the document and signed by the applicant.		 Per lodgement $200
S362T Filing Fee received under separate cover and not with CCC application Per application $25.00 + scanning costs
Swimming Pool/Small Heated Pool Compliance Cycle inspection
Swimming or small heated pool compliance (first and subsequent re-inspections) Per inspection $185.00
Cost to place IQPI records on file and monitoring compliance Per application $65.00
Cost to give one property status and previous record to IQPI Per application $65.00
EPB Building Matters
These charges are to recover the cost Council has incurred in implementing the legislative requirements under the Building (Earthquake-prone Building) Amendment Act 2016.
EPB Extension of Time Per application $150.00
EPB Exemption Per application $150.00
Alterations to EPB Per application $150.00
Determine EPB Rating Per application $300.00
Amusement Device Permits (Fees are set by legislation)
For one device, for the first seven days Per application $11.50
For each additional device by the same owner for the first seven days Per application $2.30
For each device for each further period of seven days Per application $1.15
Alcohol Licensing - Building code certification under the Sale of Alcohol Act 2012
Inspect premises for fire and Access for PWD Per application $395.00
Building Information Fees - Statistical Returns Report
Issuing Consent Report - Annual Subscription for monthly reports Per year $350.00
Issuing Consent Report - Monthly fee Per month $30.00
Council Officers Hourly Rates
Administration staff Per hour $95.00
Building Officers Per hour $172.00
Team Leader/Technical Specialist Per hour $198.00
Manager Per hour $225.00
Compliance Officer for all aspects of monitoring, enforcement and investigation work. Per hour $198.00
External specialists fees are charged out at actual costs + admin fee 15min As incurred Actual cost + 15min admin time
Requests for information
Requests for information other than those relating to either the Resource Management Act 1991 or the Building Act 2004 that cannot be answered by customer service representatives will be charged at the hourly rates specified under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, Schedule of Fees and Charges for Requests for Official Information.
Other Administration costs
Disbursement cost such as digital scanning or photocopying etc will be charged at actual costs as appropriate

Please see our Schedule of Fees and Charges: Building Control Monitoring and our Schedule of Fees and Charges: Consents: Building Consents pages for more information on the fees we charge for monitoring and for consents.