Fees and charges

The costs relating to your building consent are costs that are incurred by council in processing applications relating to building consent and will be recovered on a full cost recovery basis. Therefore, due to the scale, complexity and specialist design features associated with each dam project, the costs associated with processing individual building consents will vary greatly.

Some common items that will contribute to the costs of your application may include:

• Administrative costs (includes the officer’s time per hour (see table 2), plus any direct costs including disbursements
• Development contributions (where applicable, these will be identified on your PIM from your local council)
• Processing costs associated with engaging specialist consultants on a cost recovery basis
• Interim invoices seeking progress payments of costs incurred may apply where an application/inspection process takes more than one month
• Additional costs where applicable, including items such as travel, copying/scanning documentation.

You may also receive an invoice for development contributions from council requiring their payment.

In most cases a deposit is not required to be paid for a PIM, Building Consent or Code Compliance Certificate application. For other types of applications like a Certificate of Acceptance or Discretionary Exemption, we may require a deposit.

For any queries about if you are required to provide a deposit with the application, please contact us.

It is important that you supply us with an accurate estimated value of your building work. The estimated value should take into account all actual costs and any additional materials or labour provided free of charge to the project.

Please ensure you provide an accurate estimated value, as this information is needed to work out what levies are due to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), and Building Research Association New Zealand (BRANZ).

On acceptance of your application you will receive an invoice for building levies.  This ensures that you have time to pay the levies and your consent application does not get held up at the time of granting.

These are levies are required as your project has an estimate value that meets the threshold for the levy to be charged. These are imposed by the government under the Building Act 2004 and the Building Research Levy Act 1969.

MBIE levy is collected to fund various Building Act 2004 functions and activities carried out by MBIE such as policy development, technical guidance, compliance, enforcement and monitoring of the building sector. The threshold for the MBIE levy is for any project with an estimated value over $65,000. When the project value exceeds the threshold, the levy of $1.75 (including GST) per $1000 will be charged. We collect the levy prior to the building consent being granted and pay this to MBIE.

BRANZ levy is collected to fund research into improving techniques and materials that benefit the building system. It supports industry related research, publishing of industry related information, lectures, seminars and exhibitions. The threshold for the BRANZ levy is for any project with an estimated value at $20,000 or more. When the project value exceeds the threshold, the levy of $1.00 (excluding GST) per $1000 will be charged. We collect the levy prior to the building consent being granted and pay this to BRANZ.

Where building work is completed in stages the levy is calculated taking into consideration section 57 of the Building Act 2004. This is to establish the appropriate estimated value of work to calculate the levy for each subsequent stage.

Below is an approximate consent cost based on project value. This approximation includes GST and is based on building consent application costs received previously.

All fees and charges are reviewed annually and are available on this website.

The levy invoice will be issued on acceptance of your application. This invoice will cover the levies only. All other associated fees will be invoiced at the time of completion of processing of the application. Interim invoices may be issued where applications take a significant amount of time to process or there is a significant outstanding amount.

The owner of the dam is responsible for paying the fees and all invoices will be addressed to the owner by default.

If you wish for the invoice to be directed to your agent or another third party, please indicate this within your application.

If a purchase order number is required to be on the invoice to enable payment, please provide this at time of application so that we can ensure this information is included within your invoice.

Under the Building Act we have the right to charge a fee, levy or both. When fees or levies are not paid, we have the right to refuse to perform services or issue applications until the fee or levy is paid. Please ensure that payments are made on time when you receive your invoice. In some instances, your documentation will not be released until the payment is made.

When an application is withdrawn at any stage, a fee will be charged. This will be to cover the time and resources spent on the application and will vary depending on the costs incurred to date.

Noted that where a development contribution is required, a code compliance certificate or certificate of acceptance will not be issued until the development contribution is paid.

Payment is available via:

• Internet banking using the details provided at the bottom of your invoice
• Online payment processing service – you will need your invoice details for this payment.
• Visiting our main office location in Hamilton.