Tiny Houses - To get consent or to not get consent, that is the question.

Building a tiny house can be an exciting and rewarding experience, the opportunity to own your own home – affordably!

The compliance rules around tiny houses can be muddy waters but to put it simply, if you intend to live in a tiny house permanently or you are selling prefabricated tiny homes intended for habitation – you need to look into obtaining building consent.

Obtaining a building consent for your tiny house may seem like an unnecessary cost at first, but it’s actually cost effective in the long run as it reduces the risk of costly repairs and remedial works. A building consent ensures that your tiny house is built to code and meets all of the safety and standards requirements specific to the area you live. If you are selling a tiny house and you can provide your customers with building consent and code compliance certification for the build, it provides extra certainty to them that you are a reputable business that has met the requirements of NZ Building Code and healthy home standards. The certification also provides customers with the necessary supporting information for them to understand if the tiny house is suitable for their location and that it has been constructed to meet the varying wind, snow, corrosion or earthquake zones for the location they want to relocate it to.

Applying for a building consent means that not only will the design of the dwelling be assessed and signed off but, every stage of the build will be inspected and signed off by the local territorial authority. This give you peace of mind and ensures that your tiny house will be durable and have longevity.

It is important to get in touch with your local council (or EzyConsents) at some point, as there is also a high chance that you will need a landuse consent (to allow you to establish a primary residence or secondary residence on your property) or at the very least, a building consent for the site works associated with relocating a tiny house onto your property and connecting it to services.

If you’re going back and forth on whether you should get a building consent for the construction of your tiny house, their is a level of assurance that obtaining consent provides. Their is peace of mind knowing your home has been well built and will last for years to come. A small investment for long term certainty.

P.s. If you want to factor in the additional costs associated with consents, be sure to get in touch with your local council. They will ask you what you estimate the “value” of the project to be – i.e. your estimate for total construction costs (including design, engineering, materials etc.) as this value is used to determine your building consent fees in most cases. If you are constructing the tiny house on the land you intend it to remain on, only one building consent is required for its construction and for site works.

When in doubt, EzyConsents is here to help out. Send through any questions to hello@ezyconsents.com and we’ll help you navigate to clearer waters.