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After a cladding determination is issued

How to get a code compliance certificate

This section tells you how to get a code compliance certificate after you receive a weathertightness ‘cladding’ determination.

Most cladding determinations fall into one of three categories.

The work complies with the Building Code.
Most of the work complies with the Building Code, but we have found some problems.
When these are fixed, the work should comply with the Building Code.
There are quite serious weathertightness problems. There is a lot of work to do and
you may need to hire a design professional. Sometimes re-cladding is the best option.

What you need to do

Category 1: the Determination says your building complies with the Building Code
Ask your council to issue a code compliance certificate.

Categories 2 and 3: the Determination says you need to get work done to comply with the Building Code
If you need to do work on your building, you must send the council a plan of work saying what you are going to do to fix things. If the building is leaking, prepare the plan of work as quickly as possible.

Gather the information you need for your plan of work. We suggest you do the following things.

Get help from an expert. This could be an architect, engineer, building designer or building surveyor. Give the expert the determination and the reports you get from the Department of Building and Housing.
If your house is in category 3, ask your expert to arrange a full survey of the house for leaks.
If you have a problem with the cladding, try contacting the supplier. Suppliers can often suggest how faults can be corrected.
Once you know what the problems are, ask your expert to prepare a plan of work, with drawings if necessary. These drawings should show exactly how the building work is to be done. Make sure the drawings give all construction details, including flashings.

Get approval from the council

Take the plan of work and all the construction details to your council building inspector for approval. The council may want you to apply for a new or amended building consent. If this is the case, the council’s requirements for obtaining a building consent should be discussed and agreed with the council, and a building consent obtained before work commences.

If you don’t agree with the council

If you believe that your plan of work will meet the requirements of the Building Code, but the council doesn’t agree, you can apply to the Department for another determination. This time, the matter for dispute will be whether the work you are planning is enough to make your house comply with the Building Code.

The Department does not expect you will have to apply for a second determination. We expect you and your council can reach agreement on the work needed.

Weathertight Services may be able to help

If your house is identified as a leaky building, and is no more than 10 years old, Weathertight Services may be able to help you. Weathertight Services can help you to assess the damage, and it can also help if you need mediation or adjudication.

Contact details for Weathertight Services: