Ready, steady, go for Granny Flats

From today, New Zealanders can build granny flats in their backyards without requiring building or resource consents.

Updates to the Building Act and the new National Direction under the Resource Manage Act remove the need for consents for small standalone dwellings up to 70 square metres in size, otherwise known as granny flats. The exemptions are expected to save New Zealanders up to $5,650 in direct costs when building a granny flat and speed up the process by up to 14 weeks.

Even with the building consent exemption in place, homeowners should remember that the exemption only applies to simple designs that meet the Building Code and where work is carried out by authorised professionals. To support local infrastructure in growing communities, councils can change development contributions for granny flats when issuing a Project Information Memorandum (PIM).

MBIE has published guidance and templates on its website to assist homeowners, councils and building professionals:

Granny flats exemption: Guidance and resources(external link) — Building Performance

Read the Ministerial Press Release:

Granny flat consent exemption takes effect(external link) — Beehive.govt.nz