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Building Consent Authority

May 2009: All Building Act functions are now under the control of the Christchurch City Council (CCC):

Transfer of Functions, Duties and Powers Under the Building Act 2004 to Christchurch City Council

The Building Act 2004 requires the Council to become registered and accredited as a Building Consent Authority by 01 April 2009. Only registered and accredited building consent authorities may carry out "building control functions" from that date.

However, the Council may transfer all of its functions, duties, and powers as a territorial authority under the Building Act 2004 to another territorial authority. If the Council makes such a transfer, the Council will not need to be registered and accredited as a building consent authority.

Because of the population of the Chatham Islands, the amount and type of building work on the Chathams, and the availability of appropriately skilled employees and contractors, the Council will not have in place the required policies, procedures, and systems to achieve accreditation. There is not enough building work to justify the Council establishing an accredited building consent authority for the Chathams. It would not be an efficient use of resources. The Council does not have the technical or special capability to be able to carry out all of its duties, functions, and powers under the Building Act.

The Council is now proposing to formally transfer all of its functions, duties, and powers as a territorial authority under the Building Act to Christchurch City Council. The Council considers that this would be an efficient course of action to take. Christchurch City Council has the required technical and special capability to be able to carry out the functions, duties, and powers of the Chatham Islands Council under the Building Act.

In order to undertake this transfer, the Council must consult with the community using the special consultative procedure.

Details of proposal

The transfer agreement will set out the details of the transfer between the two Councils. Broadly speaking this will cover -

  • Term of agreement: Christchurch City Council will officially take over responsibility on 01 May 2009 for an undefined period.
  • Functions, duties, and powers to be transferred: The Council will transfer all of its functions, duties, and powers under the Building Act to Christchurch City Council. For example, this means that Christchurch City Council will be responsible for issuing building consents, inspecting building sites, and issuing code compliance certificates. Christchurch City Council will also be responsible for setting fees and charges under the Building Act in relation to the Chatham Islands, such as fees for lodging a building consent application.
  • How transferred functions, duties, and powers are to be provided: The transfer agreement will set out how Christchurch City Council will carry out the functions, duties, and powers.
  • Christchurch City Council will report to the Council: The Council will require Christchurch City Council to report to the Chatham Islands Council at regular intervals on how the functions have been carried out.
  • Review of transfer agreement: It is envisaged that the transfer agreement will contain a review provision to provide a formal opportunity to review how the transfer is working in practice.
  • Payments to Christchurch City Council: The Council and Christchurch City Council will need to determine whether any payments need to be made to Christchurch City Council for carrying out the functions, duties, and powers.
  • Liability: It is anticipated that once the functions, duties, and powers have been transferred to Christchurch City Council, any liability associated with carrying out these functions, duties, and powers will rest with Christchurch City Council.

Submissions on this proposal

Submissions were able to be made between 27 March 2009 and 26 April 2009.

This consultation required the Council to give the public at least 1 month to make submissions. A copy of the full Statement of Proposal for this consultation may be inspected at the Council offices:

Chatham Islands Council
Tuku Road
Chatham Islands

The full Statement of Proposal may also be downloaded here:
PDF file. Full Statement of Proposal File-size. 114kB

Submissions were able to be made between 27 March 2009 and 26 April 2009.