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Building Act 2004

Regulatory responsibilities and accreditation - Responsibilities of territorial authorities - Power of territorial authority to carry out building work on default

220: Territorial authority may carry out building work on default

You could also call this:

“If you don't do the building work you're told to do, the local council can ask a judge for permission to do it themselves and make you pay for it.”

If you are required by a building authority to do building work, you must start the work within the time they tell you. If it’s urgent, you need to start within 24 hours. You also need to keep working at a reasonable speed.

If you don’t do these things, the local council (territorial authority) can ask the District Court for permission to do the work themselves. Before they do this, they must tell you at least 10 days before.

If the court lets the council do the work, you will have to pay for it. The council can make you pay, and they can put a charge on your land to make sure they get the money.

The work the council does might include knocking down all or part of a building if that’s what’s needed.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM307864.

Topics:

Housing and property > Home safety and repairs

Government and voting > Local councils

219: Territorial authority may impose fee or charge and must collect levy, or

“Local councils can ask for money and must collect a fee when you want to build something or use their building services.”

221: Recovery of costs when territorial authority carries out work on default, or

“The local council can make you pay for building work they do on your property if you don't do it yourself.”

Part 3 Regulatory responsibilities and accreditation
Responsibilities of territorial authorities: Power of territorial authority to carry out building work on default

220Territorial authority may carry out building work on default

This section applies if—
a person is required, under this Act, by a building consent authority, territorial authority, or regional authority to carry out any building work on, or in connection with, any building; and
either—
1. that person, after being given notice of the requirement, fails to commence to comply with the notice within the time stated in the notice or, if the time is not so stated, within a reasonable time; or
2. that person, after a certificate from any officer of the territorial authority that the work is of an urgent nature is communicated to him or her, defaults for 24 hours from the time of that communication; and
that person does not immediately proceed with the work with all reasonable speed.

The territorial authority may apply to the District Court for an order authorising the territorial authority to carry out building work.
Before the territorial authority applies to the District Court under subsection (2), the territorial authority must give the owner of the building not less than 10 days' notice of its intention to do so.
If a territorial authority carries out building work under the authority of an order made under subsection (2),—
the owner of the building is liable for the costs of the work; and
the territorial authority may recover those costs from the owner; and
the amount recoverable by the territorial authority becomes a charge on the land on which the work was carried out.

Any building work required to be carried out under subsection (2) may include the demolition of all or part of a building.

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Notes

Section 220(2): amended, on 1 March 2017, by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
Section 220(3): amended, on 1 March 2017, by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).