Everything you need to know before booking a building inspection.

Inspections are undertaken by appointment only, Monday to Friday between 8am and 5pm (excluding public holidays).

Appointments are for either morning or afternoon, we do not book inspections for a specific time:

  • a morning inspection will take place between 8am and noon; or
  • an afternoon inspection will take place between noon and 5pm.

 

How to book, change or cancel an inspection

Phone Our Inspections Support team on (03) 941 8222, 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
  • We will schedule the next available appointment with an inspector who is able to undertake your inspection.
  • Your inspection will be booked on the spot and confirmed during the call.
Online Complete our building inspection booking form, anytime.
  • You can request your preferred date and whether you require a morning or afternoon or anytime appointment.
  • Once you submit this online form, the Council's Inspections Scheduling team will review the information. If your requested date and time window is not available, we will call you to book the next available appointment. Otherwise you can assume the appointment is scheduled and an inspector will attend within the requested time window.
  • We will also text or call the day before your booked inspection to confirm you are ready.

Change or cancel a booking

If you wish to change or cancel your inspection, please call our Inspections Support Team on (03) 941 8222. Cancellations must be made by 4pm the working day prior to your inspection taking place. The Council charges an inspection fee for cancellations made on the day for when the inspection is scheduled to take place.

What information do I provide when I book an inspection?

Please have the following information to available:

  • building consent number
  • site address
  • site details (e.g. lot number or subdivision details)
  • confirmation your approved building consent documentation will be onsite and available (this may include hard copy or electronically readable) for the inspection
  • name, phone number and email address of person onsite during inspection
  • email address(es) to send a copy of the inspection site notice to
  • LBP registration number (residential only)
  • chosen date and time (morning or afternoon)
  • type of inspection.

Consented building documentation must be onsite

It is preferred that you or a representative are onsite for an inspection. You must be on site when we are attending a final inspection and all consented building documentation must be on site and available (this may include hard copy or electronically readable) during all inspections.

Off-ground areas

The area to be inspected may include those that cannot be easily accessed. An example may be the second or third storey of a building or another area which cannot be easily seen from ground level.

You will need to provide the inspector with a safe and suitable method (for example, a cherry picker) for accessing the off-ground areas so that the inspection can take place. The inspector is not responsible for organising this so make sure you organise for this before the inspector arrives.

What happens onsite?

The building inspector will verify that the building work has been completed in accordance with the building consent documents. At the end of each inspection, the outcome will be recorded on a site inspection notice and emailed to you.

If an inspection outcome is recorded as failed, the work to be rectified will be recorded on the site inspection notice. It is likely you will need to book another inspection for remedial work.

You will be charged for all re-inspections, usually at the current applicable rate. If the work is not remedied to the satisfaction of the building inspector, a notice to fix may be issued.

Non-compliance with building consent documents

If the inspection finds non-compliance with the building consent documents, the reasons for non-compliance will be recorded on the inspection record that will be provided to you. The outcomes of a non-compliant inspection may be:

  • Some work may be able to continue:
    Work on some other areas of the building may be able to continue while the work on the area of non-compliance is being remedied. When the remedy has been completed, the inspector will need to verify that the remedy has been achieved in compliance with the building consent documents.
  • Serious breaches may result in a Notice to Fix:
    All work on the building may have to stop until the non-compliance has been remedied and the inspector has verified that the remedy has been achieved in compliance with the building consent documents. This may result in a Notice to Fix (Form 13), which is a formal notice issued by the Council advising that certain works have not been carried out in accordance with the Building Act. If a Notice to Fix is issued, you must address the issues identified within a prescribed time frame stated on the notice to prevent further action being taken. Enforcement of a Notice to Fix is undertaken by the Council. 
  • You may need to apply to amend your building consent.

Making changes after your building consent has been issued

You can amend your building consent by either a minor variation or an amendment. 

Please refer to Change your building consent for further information.

Final inspection

A final inspection is carried out when all other listed inspections have been completed and passed, and all detail on approved consent documentation has been completed.

Sometimes, other than the final inspection, there will be inspections (including effluent field, heating unit and solar hot water system) which need to also be completed. Please ensure that these inspections are also booked in so additional time has been allocated. This assists us in distributing all of the inspection bookings.

This is the last opportunity the Council has to inspect the completed building and it is therefore important that all aspects of the building are complete.

In order for the Council to carry out this inspection, the building must be completed to a standard where it has a good chance of passing. It is not designed to provide a list for the contractor to complete.

Once the building work and inspections are completed you will then need to apply for a code compliance certificate including supplying all remaining construction documentation.

For commercial buildings, if your building work is not quite finished and you wish to open part of your premise to the public you will have to apply for a certificate for public use if you’re not ready to apply for a code compliance certificate.