Adding an Additional Room Without Consent
What better way to upgrade your home than building an additional room? It will help you gain more space and use it for various purposes like storage and family entertainment. If you’re working from home, you can quickly transform the new room into an office. The new area also comes in extra handy in boosting your home’s market appeal in case you plan to get it listed soon. But how do you build an additional room without consent? Is it even possible?
With the new exemptions included in the Building Act, you may be able to expand your home without applying for building consent. Let’s learn more about this recent ruling below.
What Does The Building Act Exemptions Cover?
In August 2020, the Building Act started to include new building consent exemptions for low-risk expanded areas such as sheds, sleepouts, and carports. The ruling aims to reduce the cost for building owners and help Councils stay focused on high-risk building projects. In a huge way, the set of exemptions benefit homeowners who love doing DIY work.
Provided that you work with a licensed building contractor or consulted a chartered engineer, you can build the following structures without applying for building consent from your Council.
- Single story detached rooms which include prefabricated buildings or a newly built room no more than 30 square metre in area
- Carports no larger than 40 square metre
- Hay barns or pole sheds in rural areas with a maximum size of 110 square metre
- Closing a patio or veranda that measures no more than 5 square metres big
Note that the additional room should meet the criteria provided in the Building Code and satisfy other requirements of your local legislation.
In addition, do take note that installing a kitchen or bathroom in the new room isn’t included in the exemption. The structure will no longer be classified as a cabin or sleep out if you add such features. You will need to secure building consent as well if you have to do any electrical or plumbing work.
On top of these, here are other add-ons that will require you to apply for consent:
- If you need to install a firewall
- If the new structure might affect neighboring structures, such as fencing footings or retaining walls
What To Prepare Before Starting Your Project
Similar to when preparing for any other construction or home remodeling project, your priority in building an additional room is to double-check the paperwork you need to prepare.
Start by determining if you need a building consent or not. Does your project meet the criteria above? You can also run it by your local Council by phone or online. They can provide you with the information you need for your upcoming home upgrade.
Not Sure Where to Start in Your Building Project?
We understand that things can get confusing for some homeowners to tackle DIY home improvement projects. Besides thinking of the design concept and functionality of the new space, you also need to process some documents like building consent or permit.
With that in mind, we aim to extend our helping hand to clients like you. This way, you can ensure that you get the best results for your building project and adhere to the standards and regulations imposed by the local Council.
Do you still doubt whether the additional room you want to build satisfies the conditions we discussed above? We can help clear things up for you.
Let our team of building professionals guide you through your dream home remodelling journey. Call us today for more information, or head over to our Contact Us page to leave us a message.