Granny flat exemption: build up to 70m² without a building consent

The Building and Construction (Small Stand-alone Dwellings) Amendment Act 2025 inserts a new Schedule 1A into the Building Act, letting a qualifying granny flat up to 70m² be built without a building consent. For builders it means a faster path to start — but only if every eligibility condition is met and the work is done or supervised by Licensed Building Practitioners.

What’s in force now

The Schedule 1A exemption commenced on 15 January 2026 and is live. A qualifying single-storey standalone dwelling of 70m² or less can be built without a Building Consent, provided every eligibility condition is met and the work is done or supervised by Licensed Building Practitioners. A PIM is still required before you start, and you should confirm site-specific constraints on building.govt.nz.

Two additions were announced in April 2026 to be made by Order in Council in Q3 2026 — treat both as upcoming, not yet in force:

• Off-site pre-fabrication of exempt granny flats before a PIM is issued.
• Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) carrying a CodeMark certificate as an approved material.

The core criteria below (≤70m², single-storey, setbacks) are unchanged by the proposed expansion.

Eligibility criteria (Schedule 1A — simple design)

• Footprint of 70m² gross floor area or less.
• Single storey only.
• Lightweight cladding — weatherboard, fibre cement or metal — NOT brick veneer or stucco.
• Lightweight roof — long-run metal or pressed metal tile — NOT concrete tile.
• Setbacks: at least 2m from the boundary and 6m from any other building.
• No level-entry shower — this means no waterproof membrane to ground level is required.
• Good ground under NZS 3604 §3 — not on TC2/TC3 liquefaction land, and not on a slope steeper than 1:5.
• An existing residential title with a primary dwelling already on it.

The process, step by step

The exemption isn’t a free-for-all. Follow the sequence and keep the paperwork tight:

1. Apply for a PIM to council before starting — this is mandatory. It confirms the exemption applies and identifies site constraints.
2. Have the design done by a Licensed Building Practitioner (Design class), or a registered architect or engineer.
3. Build it under end-to-end supervision by an LBP (Carpentry, Foundations and so on, per the RBW class).
4. Notify council of commencement.
5. Have the LBP file Records of Work for all RBW within 5 working days of completing each item.
6. Notify council of completion. Council can inspect — a random audit, which is not the same as consent inspections.

Still required alongside the exemption

A building-consent exemption doesn’t exempt the trades or your District Plan obligations. You still need:

• Plumbing connection — a Certifying Plumber and a Plumbing Certificate.
• Drainage — a Certifying Drainlayer and a Drainlayer’s Certificate.
• Electrical — a Certifying Electrician and an Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC).
• Resource consent if District Plan rules are infringed (HIRB, setback, density, site coverage).
• Connection to council services if required — water, sewer and stormwater.