Building Warrant of Fitness

Property owners are responsible for the safety and sanitation of their buildings.

Certain systems and features contained within buildings require ongoing maintenance and monitoring to ensure they continue to perform to the standard under which they were installed.

The Building Act 2004 has defined a list of these systems and features which are known as specified systems.

A compliance schedule is an inventory of these specified systems contained within a building and it specifies the unique inspection, maintenance and inspection requirements as well as the frequency of the required work and who should perform it.

Where a compliance schedule has been issued for a building, owners must provide to Council, a Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) annually to verify that the systems are in working order.

A Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) is a document that is prepared annually by the building owner.

It must be submitted to the Horowhenua District Council for review and approval prior to being publicly displayed at the premises.

It is a declaration stating that the specified systems in the building have been inspected, maintained and recorded in accordance with the Compliance Schedule.

Building Warrant of Fitness is an annual renewal and the anniversary date does not change.

The date of renewal is the anniversary of the date on which the Compliance Schedule was issued.

The renewed warrant must be submitted to the Horowhenua District Council for review and approval before the expiry date. Failure to provide a BWOF is a breach of the Building Act.

Further information about Specified Systems, Compliance Schedules and Building Warrant of Fitness's is included in the information pack below, which also details the responsibilities of the owners of buildings containing specified systems.

 Building Warrant of Fitness Information Pack (PDF, 66 KB)