Consents
What a building consent costs, council by council
For a residential alteration valued around $200,000, upfront council charges range from about $1,415 (Rotorua) to $5,479 (Auckland), and four of the 15 councils below publish no upfront figure at all and charge purely by the hour. Every figure was read from the council's own fee schedule on 13 July 2026.
The numbers are not like-for-like: some are deposits reconciled against actual hours, some are fixed fees, and some are pure time charging. Each row states how that council charges. Councils revise fees every July, so confirm on the linked schedule before you budget.
| Council | Upfront charge | Hourly rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Auckland Council Deposit, topped up. Actual cost is invoiced above the deposit, refunded if less. | $5,479 Processing deposit $3,400 + inspection deposit $2,079 for the $100,000 to $499,999 project value band | $201/hr residential officer ($231 to $243 senior) current schedule | Council fee page |
Christchurch City Council Deposit. Actual costs calculated at the processing decision; extra time at officer rates. | $3,400 Residential deposit for the over $100,000 to $300,000 band, new buildings, additions and alterations | $225/hr consent officer ($240 to $310 senior) 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Wellington City Council Estimate reconciled to actual time; you pay the difference or get a refund. | $1,697 plan check + itemised extras Plan check fee for the $100,001 to $500,000 residential band, plus lodgement $178.50, District Plan check $272, online fee $51.75, inspections $283/hr and CCC $178.50, assembled per project (roughly $2,400 to $5,000 upfront) | $283/hr inspections and re-assessment current schedule | Council fee page |
Hamilton City Council Fixed fee per project type, paid in full before granting. RFI processing extra at $233/hr. | $2,918 Fixed fee for the Alterations and Additions residential category (banded by project type, not value) | $252/hr inspector, $233/hr RFI processing current schedule | Council fee page |
Tauranga City Council Time-based. Charged at officer rates for the hours the consent actually takes. | Charged by the hour No value-banded fee exists. Lodgement checking $153/hr plus processing at officer rates plus an online system fee of 0.075% of the work value for projects $125,000 to $2.5m (about $150 on a $200k job) | $268/hr residential officer ($284 commercial) 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Dunedin City Council Indicative time-based estimate. Published hour ranges; further charges may apply. | ≈$4,700 to $6,600 indicative Alter Dwelling $100,000 to $500,000: 8 to 15 processing hours at $239/hr, checking and admin, 10 inspections at $244 each, plus CCC $244 | $239/hr residential processing, $244 per inspection 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Hutt City Council Initial fee covering set hours; additional time invoiced at hourly rates. | $4,415 Residential band up to and including $200,000; covers 10 hours processing, 1.5 hours admin and 6 hours inspection time | $260/hr residential ($280 commercial) 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Whangārei District Council Deposit/instalment. Additional processing invoiced when the consent is granted. | $4,652 (with PIM $4,844) Residential band $100,001 to $250,000, estimated 7 inspections included; instalment that can attract additional time-based fees | $202/hr building control officer 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Napier City Council Invoice on approval, based on actual time and inspections. | Charged by the hour No deposit is required at lodgement. The full invoice (all fees, levies and estimated inspections) is issued once processing is complete, and the consent is granted when it is paid | $270/hr consents officer, $270 per inspection 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Hastings District Council Pure time and materials, invoiced at grant. | Charged by the hour No value bands. Consents are charged by hourly rate plus fixed per-zone inspection fees ($225 to $640 per inspection), invoiced when the consent is ready to issue | $274/hr building officer ($211/hr technician) 2026/27 | Council fee page |
New Plymouth District Council Base fee as a minimum; actual costs above it invoiced before the CCC is issued. | $4,315 RES5 band $130,000 to $249,999 base fee (non-refundable minimum; top-ups invoiced), plus a 0.075% online lodgement fee (about $150 on a $200k job) | $220/hr technical, $247 per inspection 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Palmerston North City Council Actual-cost hourly charging. | Charged by the hour No value bands and no published deposit for standard consents; charged on the relevant officer's hourly rate plus any additional fees | $249/hr building officer ($270 commercial) from 1 July 2026 | Council fee page |
Rotorua Lakes Council Non-refundable lodgement fee plus time-based additional fees. | $1,415 lodgement Residential Alteration lodgement fee (same fee at any project value); most inspections and additional processing are charged on top at granting | $250/hr inspections 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Nelson City Council Non-refundable deposit; costs beyond it charged at hourly rates. | $4,232 Deposit for the $100,001 to $200,000 value band (all application types); Nelson also charges its own insurance levy $3.08 and QA levy $3.65 per $1,000, roughly $1,750 extra on a $200k job | $208/hr residential officer 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Invercargill City Council Mostly fixed (per m²); extra time only after the second round of RFIs at $226/hr. | $29 per m² + $172.50 lodgement Priced per square metre for interior alterations and extensions ($29/m²), not by project value, plus a 0.08625% lodgement fee on a $200k job | $226/hr additional processing 2026/27 | Council fee page |
Levies at every council
On top of every council's fees: BRANZ research levy about $1.00 to $1.15 per $1,000 of work over $20,000, and the MBIE building levy $1.75 per $1,000 of work over $65,000. On a $200,000 job that is roughly $200 to $230 BRANZ plus $350 MBIE.
Why the fee is rarely the final bill
Almost every council reserves the right to charge the actual hours the consent takes, which is why requests for information (RFIs) matter to your budget: each round of questions adds officer time at $200 to $284 an hour. MBIE's own analysis found missing documents behind two-thirds of RFIs. A complete, well-coordinated application is the single biggest thing an owner can do to keep the invoice near the deposit.
How long it takes
The statutory clock is 20 working days of council processing time, but the clock stops while you answer RFIs. Median real-world times for every consent authority are on our consent processing times page, from MBIE's quarterly monitoring.
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