Building consents : Christchurch City Council

The Christchurch City Council is responsible for issuing building consents within Christchurch and Banks Peninsula.

Processing delays

30 January update.

The information below is updated at the beginning of the week and is accurate as of that time.

Consent application numbers remain high, however, we are continuing to make good progress on processing applications. Our current wait times to start processing a consent application are:

Residential

Solid fuel heater applications: within two working days.
Low complexity applications (including single and two-storey dwellings): within 10 working days.
All other applications (including complex dwellings and multi-units): within 20 working days.

Check the status of your building consent to get an estimation of when your application will begin processing.

Commercial

All applications: within five working days.

For the previous month of December, we processed applications (including amendments) within 20 working days:

Residential: 49.8%
Commercial: 70.8%

We understand the impact this has on you, and thank you for your patience and understanding. Find out more about what we're doing and what you can do to help.

A building consent is a formal approval to undertake building work in accordance with approved plans and specifications. It establishes that your proposed building work complies with the building code and after we have issued the building consent, we undertake inspections during construction and issue a code compliance certificate when the building work is all completed.

Check the status of your building consent

Enter your building consent number in full (e.g. BCN/2022/555) to view the current status or estimated start date. Your building consent number can be found in the email confirmation you were sent when you submitted your building consent application.