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Building Act 2004

Building - Building work—Project information memoranda and building consents - Building consents

41: Building consent not required in certain cases

You could also call this:

"When you don't need permission to do building work"

Illustration for Building Act 2004

You do not need a building consent in certain cases. This includes work on Crown buildings or buildings that do not need a consent under the Act. You can check Schedule 1 to see what building work does not need a consent. You also do not need a consent for urgent work to save lives or prevent damage. This includes work to keep a building's systems safe. Some building work is allowed under other parts of the Act, like section 133BS or section 133BV. The Governor-General can change what work is listed in Schedule 1 by Order in Council. This means they can add, remove or clarify what building work is allowed without a consent. Any changes made by the Governor-General are considered secondary legislation, which has its own publication requirements as outlined in the Legislation Act 2019.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM306377.

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40: Building work not to be carried out without consent, or

"You must get permission before you build anything, or you could be punished."

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42: Owner must apply for certificate of acceptance if building work carried out urgently, or

" You need to ask for a special paper if you do building work in an emergency without getting permission first "

Part 2Building
Building work—Project information memoranda and building consents: Building consents

41Building consent not required in certain cases

  1. Despite section 40, a building consent is not required in relation to—

  2. a Crown building or Crown building work to which, under section 6, this Act does not apply; or
    1. any building work described in Schedule 1 for which a building consent is not required (see section 42A); or
      1. any building work in respect of which a building consent cannot practicably be obtained in advance because the building work has to be carried out urgently—
        1. for the purpose of saving or protecting life or health or preventing serious damage to property; or
          1. in order to ensure that a specified system in a building that is covered by a compliance schedule, or would be covered if a compliance schedule were issued in respect of the building, is maintained in a safe condition or is made safe; or
          2. any building work that is carried out under section 133BS (which relates to buildings located in areas designated under subpart 6B); or
            1. any building work that is carried out under section 133BV or 133BW (which relate to buildings located in areas designated under subpart 6B); or
              1. any building work that is carried out under the powers of investigation in sections 207G to 207M (which relate to building failures); or
                1. any energy work that, under section 43, does not require a building consent; or
                  1. any building work that a territorial authority is authorised to carry out under this Act; or
                    1. the manufacture of a modular component that is designed and manufactured—
                      1. by a registered MCM who is certified to design and manufacture the component; and
                        1. with the intention that the component will be used in building work that is carried out somewhere else.

                        2. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, amend Schedule 1 by—

                        3. adding any building work or class of building work to Schedule 1 as being building work for which a building consent is not required:
                          1. removing any building work or class of building work from Schedule 1 as being building work for which a building consent is not required:
                            1. extending or clarifying the scope of any building work or class of building work listed in Schedule 1 as building work for which a building consent is not required:
                              1. restating, for the purpose of clarity, any building work or class of building work listed in Schedule 1.

                                1. An order under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

                                Notes
                                • Section 41(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 17(1) of the Building Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 100).
                                • Section 41(1)(ca): inserted, on , by section 9 of the Building Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 27).
                                • Section 41(1)(cb): inserted, on , by section 9 of the Building Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 27).
                                • Section 41(1)(cc): inserted, on , by section 9 of the Building Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 27).
                                • Section 41(1)(f): inserted, on , by section 20 of the Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular Components, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 21).
                                • Section 41(2): replaced, on , by section 17(2) of the Building Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 100).
                                • Section 41(2)(aa): inserted, on , by section 14(2) of the Building and Construction (Small Stand-alone Dwellings) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 59).
                                • Section 41(3): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).