Building Inspections

Overview

At various stages during construction you will need to arrange for Horowhenua District Council's building advisory officers to inspect what has been done, in order to ensure your building work complies with the building consent and the Building code.

The granting of a building consent is conditional on enabling the building work to be inspected onsite, or offsite if building work is being undertaken elsewhere, during normal working hours. 

A list of required inspections will be included with your Building Consent. This may not be a full list of the required inspections as additional inspections may be needed depending on the circumstances of your build (construction methods, etc).

When to book an inspection

You need to book an inspection as each stage of work is completed. Inspections are generally conducted between 8am and 4pm on an agreed appointment schedule. You can book an inspection by phoning our inspection booking service on 06 366 0927.

What you'll need to supply

You'll need to supply the following information when you make your booking:

  • your Building Consent number;
  • the site location/address;
  • the type of inspection required; and
  • the name and contact phone number of the person who will be on-site at the time of inspection.
  • details of any licensed building practitioners (LBP) who have been involved if the work includes restricted building work.

To prevent possible delays with your project, please make your bookings as far in advance if you can.

Types of inspections

A list of inspection types is available below.

View Building Inspection Types(PDF, 73KB)

During the inspection

Please ensure that you or your agent are on site for the inspection and that you have the consented plans and documentation with you (including any amendments). The inspection will not be carried out if the approved documentation is not available.

Building Advisory Officers are authorised to conduct inspections at all times during normal working hours. Safe access to all areas to be inspected must be provided to officers carrying out inspections. Our officers may refuse to carry out an inspection if health and safety risks aren’t being adequately managed on site.

Building Advisory Officers inspect work to check that the construction complies with the consented plans and documentation. If you wish to change some aspect of the project you must first obtain an amendment to the Building Consent before the work is carried out. Minor variations that don't differ significantly from the plans and specifications can be approved on site at the time of inspection. It is very important that at the time of inspection the Building Consent documents accurately reflect what has actually been built.

Officers will document their findings during the inspection and will pass the inspection if the work complies with the Building Consent or fail the inspection if the work does not comply with the building consent.

A record of the findings of the inspection will be left with the agents on site or emailed to the owner/agent.

Related information

Apply for an amendment to a building consent

If you wish to make a significant change to some aspect of your building project after your consent has been approved you will need to apply for an amendment to the Building Consent before the work is carried out.

The process for obtaining an amendment is the same as obtaining the original consent.

It is very important that at the time of inspection the Building Consent documents accurately reflect what has actually been built.

Minor Variations

If the change is small and does not significantly differ from the original approved plans and specifications, it can be considered for approval as a minor variation.

Minor variations may be approved on site at the time of inspection, or you can send information relating to the proposed changes with a written request through the Simpli portal or by email to recordsprocessing@horowhenua.govt.nz.Please quote the consent number and clearly label your request as a request for a minor variation. If the request is made by an agent, confirm the owner’s approval of the changes.

For more information about what is considered to be a minor alteration refer to the What is a minor variation? page on the MBIE website for more guidance. 

Failed Inspections

If the inspection failed a site notice will be issued identifying what is required to be done to ensure compliance with the building consent.

Re-inspections may be required if the inspector is not satisfied that the work meets the requirement of the Building Consent and the Building Code. These may incur additional charges if inspections exceed those estimated when you lodged your Building Consent application.

In some cases the Building Officer will agree for conditional continuation of work that is not related or impacted by the failed result.

Where non-compliances are of a serious nature, a Notice to Fix may be issued requiring all work to stop until the non-compliance is resolved. The Notice to Fix will specify the issues you must address and the timeframe you must complete the works by.

More information about notices to fix can be found on the MBIE website, and you can find more information about making amendments and minor variations on our Changes to your building project page.

Producer statements

A producer statement is a professional opinion based on sound judgement and specialist expertise. It is not a product warranty or guarantee of compliance.

In considering whether to accept a producer statement, the credentials of the author are assessed to ensure that person has the appropriate experience and competence in their particular field of expertise.

Producer statements are typically used for specialist work, such as engineering, or where there is a proprietary product which is installed by appointed contractors. Aspects of this work will be outside the council’s in-house expertise and a producer statement can assist the Building Officer in determining whether the building work complies with the Building Code. Building Officers will use their professional judgement when considering producer statements and how much weight to give them.

Where the application is relying on a Producer Statement to certify compliance of the plans, specifications or completed works with the Building Code, a copy of that producer statement and the calculations it is based on must accompany the application.