What is Certificate of Acceptance of Construction in New Zealand?
The quality of new Zealand’s residential buildings is audited and supervised by the regional council where the house is built, and the housing that meets the building design code, construction standards and material standards, each step of the construction will be inspected by the regional council, and finally give the house construction qualification certificate, that is, the CCC certificate. However, the small knowledge point to be mentioned in this article is not the “construction project qualification certificate”, but a rare and lower standard “construction project acceptance certificate”, certification of Acceptance, referred to as CoA.
CoA differs from the CCC certificate in that the council that issued it provided only limited guarantees for the building that acquired it. Currently, a CoA can only be applied for if the construction work is built without permission, or if a CCC certificate cannot be obtained in certain circumstances.
Taking the Auckland City Council as an example, before applying for a COA, it is recommended that you apply to Parliament and attend the CoA Pre-Application Meeting. This is not mandatory, but it is recommended.
The purpose of the meeting is to determine whether:
- Project Information Memorandum (PIM) required (this document contains planning and construction recommendations)
- Building permits are required
- Resource licensing is required
- Whether construction works may be approved
When The Council confirms your CoA pre-application meeting, additional information or documentation may be requested. Applicants should provide this information at least three working days before the meeting. The current Auckland City Council fee for CoA is $1,200 or $2,000 (based on whether the property is worth more than $20,000).
If you apply for a CoA, providing evidence from appropriately qualified and independent professionals will help the Council’s Approval Committee determine how the construction work you are applying for meets the Building Code, which will help to obtain a CoA.
A CoA can only be issued if:
- As far as it knew and believed, and for reasonable reasons, the Parliamentary Committee was satisfied with the construction code of the building
- Construction work was carried out after 1 July 1992
- Parliament has not yet granted a permit for the construction
It is an offence to carry out construction work that requires a building permit before a building permit is obtained. If the owner cannot prove compliance with the building code, the Council may refuse to issue a CoA, and the owner may have to pay for the demolition of the construction work that has been completed or is under construction. In general, CoA is a remedy made when the CCC is not available, to a lesser extent than the CCC, but it is still a valid legal proof (at least the parliament has accepted it); Applying for a CoA is a laborious and unflattering job, and few experienced designers will touch on this aspect because it does not make money and it is easy to get caught up in various documents and waste time.