Making a change to your building consent

When work differs from what was planned

What you build must match what's in your building consent – otherwise you won't be able to get a code compliance certificate, and your building may not be safe to use.

You might need to make changes after your building consent has been approved if:

• you've discovered something you didn't know about when you applied for the consent – for example, your builder discovers rotten framing that also needs to be replaced
• you've changed your plans – for example, you'd planned to add a deck to your renovation, but decided not to build it for budget reasons
• your builder or engineer is recommending a different product or approach to what's in the approved plans.

Depending on the size of the change, you may need to apply for an amendment to your building consent.

Talk to us about the changes

You need to discuss any changes with the Council. We'll tell you if you need to apply for an amendment to your building consent, or if the change just needs to be noted in your original consent.

Building Compliance and Consents
Phone: 04 801 4311
Email: bcc@wcc.govt.nz

If the change is minor

Minor variations are small modifications or additions that don't affect the overall plans, for example:

• adjustments to room dimensions of less than 200mm
• the position of plumbing fixtures within rooms
• repositioning doors or windows without affecting bracing elements, fire exit routes or point loads.

Examples of how minor variations can work – Building Performance

If we're satisfied that the proposed change is minor, it will be recorded and kept with the consent documentation in the Council's system.

Use the form below to apply for a minor change.

Application for minor variations of approved plans (94KB PDF)

If the change is major

You'll need to apply for an amendment to your original consent if your changes are significant, including:

• adjustments to room dimensions of more than 200mm
• repositioning doors or windows that will affect bracing elements, fire exit routes or point loads
• any building work that is no longer going ahead
• any new materials, for example acrylic shower unit to a tiled shower unit
• any new, altered or removed specified systems that alter the draft compliance schedule – for example, you're using a different fire alarm system to what was in your original consent
• changing the proposed cladding system.

More examples of major variations

Note: If you need to apply for an amendment to your building consent, all building work related to the proposed amendment should stop until it has been approved.

Applying for an amendment to your building consent

You have to apply online through the Simpli portal. You or your architect will need to provide:

• new documents for the proposed amended work
• updated plans showing the work that you're proposing to amend.

On every document, clearly highlight the proposed work to be amended.

What it costs

How much you pay will depend on how long it takes to process your variation and the size of the change you're making to your plans.

Use our amended plan calculator to estimate the fee you need to pay with your application.

Estimate your building consent fees 

Apply online

You'll receive an invoice through Simpli.

Make an amendment to your building consent