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Granny Flat Building Rules

Before you start planning

  • We strongly recommend doing all due diligence, reading national guidance and talking to a designer and/or licensed building practitioner.
  • Ensure you apply for and receive a PIM before any building work starts, including off-site manufacturing.

Thinking about building a granny flat?

The granny flat building consent exemption allows certain new, single-storey, stand-alone dwellings up to 70 square metres to be built without a building consent, provided all exemption conditions are met and the work is carried out or supervised by a licensed building practitioner (LBP).

All building work under the exemption must comply with the New Zealand Building Code.

Granny flats exemption: Guidance and resources

What is a granny flat?

A granny flat is a small, self-contained home up to 70 square metres that sits on the same property as the main house. It's designed to complement the main dwelling, and anyone can live in it - there's no requirement for them to be related to the people in the main house.

The name 'granny flat' changes depending on the legislation:

  • Building Act: calls it a "Small Stand-alone Dwelling"
  • Resource Management Act: calls it a "Detached Minor Residential Unit"

Both names refer to the same type of building.

Applying for a PIM

To build a granny flat under the exemption rules you must apply for a Project Information Memorandum (Small stand-alone dwelling) which will be issued within 10 working days.

Complete applications can be emailed to buildingadmin@rotorualc.nz

Application forms

Key conditions of the exemption

Below are some of the key conditions for the project to meet exemption criteria.

The dwelling must:

  • Be new (constructed after issue of PIM), stand-alone and single-storey.
  • Have a floor area of 70 square metres or less (including any internal garage).
  • Be at least two metres away from any other residential building or legal boundary.
  • Be built using lightweight steel or timber framing and lightweight roof cladding.
  • Use wall claddings with a maximum weight of 220 kilograms per square metre.
  • Be connected to network utility operator (NUO) systems (public services such as water supply, wastewater disposal, power supply) where available, or have compliant on-site systems.
  • Not contain a level-entry shower that requires a waterproof membrane.
  • Not contain a solid fuel burner.
  • Be designed and built (or supervised) by licensed building professionals.

All plumbing, drainage, electrical and gas work must be carried out by appropriately licensed professionals and certified as required.

The build must be completed within two years of the PIM being issued - extensions may be granted by council before the two-year period lapses.

If the PIM lapses and is of no effect, the building work completed prior to lapsing will require a Certificate of Acceptance and a building consent for any building work still to be completed.

Homeowner responsibilities

Homeowners are responsible for:

  • Applying for a PIM using Form 2AA.
  • Obtaining a PIM from council before starting any building work.
  • Consider site specific factors such as natural hazards and infrastructure capacity and site constraints such as retaining walls, easements etc.
  • Seeking professional advice to interpret the PIM if necessary.
  • Making sure the granny flat meets all exemption conditions and complies with the Building Code.
  • Using licensed building professionals for all restricted building work.
  • Submitting all required documentation to council within 20 working days of completion.
  • Paying development contributions as notified when PIM is issued.
  • Applying for a building consent if the exemption conditions are not met.

Note: Non-compliance with the legislation may result in enforcement action, fines or prosecution.

Resource Consent

  • The building consent exemption operates alongside the Resource Management System.
  • In most cases, you won't need a resource consent under the Resource Management Act 1991 and National Environmental Standards (NES) for Minor Residential Units. Whether you need one or not depends on site-specific circumstances. You will need to familiarise yourself with the NES requirements.
  • Homeowners need to check planning rules, resource consent requirements and consent notices separately.
  • Rotorua Lakes Council has more lenient rules about how close to the boundary you can build (set back rules) however adopting these will mean you no longer meet the Building Act exemption resulting in the need for a building consent.
National Environmental Standards for Detached Minor Residential Units (NES-DMRU)

What’s not included in the exemption

The exemption does not apply to:

  • Tiny-homes on wheels or a moveable base.
  • Container homes.
  • Imported kitset or flat-pack designs which are not designed, engineered or built to meet the New Zealand Building Code.

Connecting to services

  • Other approvals will be needed for network utility connections and vehicle crossing.
  • You will require an approval to connect to the public water supply, wastewater system or, if available, stormwater system. Homeowners will need to apply for a service connection before completing these connections.
  • If you are connecting to the existing private services within your property you will need to check the capacity of the existing pipes.
  • If your property is serviced by a Low Pressure Grinder Pump system, a STEP system or a biolytix system you will need to check with council about the of the storage chambers and additional storage will be required.
  • If NUO services aren't available or lack capacity, you can use an on-site system. If On-Site Effluent Treatment (OSET) is required for wastewater, a regional consent will likely be required. If you have any queries about this, please contact either, Bay of Plenty Regional Council on 0800 884 880 or Waikato Regional Council on 0800 800 401, dependent on which region you are located.

After completion

PIM expiry and development costs

The PIM is valid for two years. If it expires and you haven’t applied for an extension, the work will no longer comply with the exemption, and you will need to apply for a Certificate of Acceptance (COA).

Council’s Fees and Charges and development contribution fees will be charged in line with the operative Development Contribution Policy at the time of lodgement of the COA.

Official guidance

Comprehensive guidance can be found on the Ministry of Business and Employment website

Find out more

That process helps identify risks and constraints early, including hazard risks, servicing and whether the exemption is likely to apply.

No, the new rules remove the need for council to review the design or inspect the building work to certify that a building meets the Building Code. You can still go through the normal Building Consent process if you would like the assurance and record that the building is appropriately certified and meets Building Code regulations.

These contributions help fund infrastructure such as water, wastewater, stormwater, roads and community facilities, and ensure growth-related costs are mostly met by the owners of new developments rather than spread across all ratepayers. The Development Contribution cost will be assessed during the preparation of the PIM and will depend on the area it is going into and the size of the new building.

Any Development Contribution must be paid within 20 working days of completing the building work.

Yes you can providing you meet all the exemption rules. You can't rely on the National Environmental Standards for Detached Minor Residential Units (NES-DMRU) as it only allows for a dwelling that is associated with a primary dwelling on the same site. You will need to apply District Plan rules to your property which may require a Resource Consent.

No, to be considered under the exemption rules your small, stand-alone dwelling must include a kitchen and bathroom as the necessary facilities to be self-contained.

If everything was done properly when it was built, it’s covered by the consents issued at the time. The new rules under the Building Act and NES-DMRU won’t affect it.

If you want to build a new granny flat, you can follow the new rules and requirements.

No. The exemption only applies to new buildings. Your current sleepout should be covered by its original building consent and/or resource consent. If you want to make changes, you may need another consent, depending on what those changes are.

If you start any building work without a PIM being issued you are carrying out illegal building work under the Building Act. Council can issue a Notice to Fix, which is a formal legal notice requiring you to correct the situation. This means you must stop work and take steps to comply with the law, which may include:

  • getting a Certificate of Acceptance for what has already been built
  • applying for a building consent and/or resource consent for what is still to be built
  • removal of all/or some of the building work.

Ignoring a Notice to Fix can lead to further enforcement action and penalties.

No because the building is already constructed. Under the exemption you must apply for and receive a PIM before any building work begins. Your granny flat can be built off-site but you must ensure that no building work takes place until a PIM has been issued.

We keep our usual powers to deal with any building work that is unsafe or does not comply with the rules.

Yes, you will pay extra rates for your separate dwelling.

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