In this section we offer answers to frequently asked questions received by the Building Services department.

Q: When do I pay for my building application and what payment options are available?

A: A deposit is required when a building consent application is lodged and submitted in hard copy. Payment for any additional charges, for example, levies, certificate of title, drainage connections will also be required at this stage.  Any additional processing charges are required before the consent can be issued. 

Building applications submitted online will be invoiced for the levies, if applicable, once the application has been checked and accepted. Administrative and processing costs associated with the application are calculated once the consent has been granted (or refused) and invoiced at this stage.  Payment is required before the consent will be issued.

Payments can be made by cash, EFTPOS, cheque or by internet banking. We are unable to accept credit card payments at this stage.

Paying by internet banking - You can use internet banking to pay application fees. Payments are credited to our account on the next business day.

• Bank: Westpac Bank
• Account Name: Dunedin City Council
  
• Account Number: 03 0905 0184000 07
  

To avoid delays, please ensure you include the debtor and invoice number in the code and reference fields (this information is available on the invoice).

Refer to the guide below for more information about charges and payment.

Q: My building consent has a status of CCC Refused, what does this mean?

A: You may have received a letter from us advising your building consent has or will be given a status of CCC Refused. We send monitoring letters to assist you with your obligations under the Building Act.  A letter is sent to the owner if the consent is two years old and an application for a code compliance certificate has not been applied for.  

Don't be alarmed, this does not restrict you from booking inspections and applying for a code compliance certificate at a later date.  Note, additional inspection and administration fees may apply.

We do recommend that you apply for an extension of time if you are in doubt that the work may not be able to be signed off in the two year period.  However, extensions may be declined for older consents due to durability issues.

If no application for a code compliance certificate is made, nor an extension of time applied for, we investigate whether a code compliance certificate can be issued using the information held on file.  If it is determined that without full access to the property we would be unable to establish compliance we would then refuse to issue the code compliance certificate at that stage. 

We also monitor consents that have been in our system for a number of years and have not had a code compliance certificate applied for.  We make every effort to contact the current owner before a decision is made to refuse to issue a code compliance certificate as above.