January to March 2026, MBIE data
Building consent at Central Hawke's Bay District Council: how long it takes, what it costs
Central Hawke's Bay District Council processes a building consent in a median of 14 working days, and 17 working days in total once the time you spend answering the council's questions is counted. The national medians are 9 and 16 working days, so Central Hawke's Bay is 1 working days slower than the national median, the 41st fastest of 66 councils.
| Measure | Central Hawke's Bay | National median |
|---|---|---|
| Council processing timeThe statutory clock, max 20 working days | 14 days | 9 days |
| Your time answering questionsMedian applicant response to an RFI | 4 days | 9 days |
| Total elapsed timeLodgement to decision, the number that matters | 17 days | 16 days |
| Met the 20-day timeframeShare of consents processed within the statutory limit | 81.5% | 94.5% |
| Code compliance certificateMedian days to process the CCC at the end of the job | 7 days | 4 days |
Source: MBIE Building Consent System Performance Monitoring, Q1 2026 (MBIE), January to March 2026. MBIE calculates each column's median separately, on different sets of applications, so the columns do not add up.
What a consent costs at Central Hawke's Bay District Council
For a residential alteration around $200,000, Central Hawke's Bay District Council charges $1,072 upfront. Administration fee ($618, consents over $80,000) plus online lodgement ($454.25, $125,000-$499,999 band); officer time and inspections are invoiced separately. Small fixed lodgement then actual-cost recovery. Officer time and per-inspection fees are invoiced at cost, uncapped. Hourly rate: $258/hr.
On top of the council's own fees, two statutory levies apply everywhere: the 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 over $65,000). On a $200,000 job that is roughly $550 to $580.
Read from chbdc.govt.nz Building Fees & Charges, 2026/27 schedule. Councils revise fees each July, so confirm before you budget.
What actually slows a consent down
The gap between Central Hawke's Bay District Council's 14 processing days and the 17 days a consent really takes is mostly your own time answering requests for information. The statutory clock stops the moment the council asks a question and does not restart until you answer in full. MBIE attributes about 66% of those requests to missing documents, 10% to incorrect documents and 5% to misalignment between architects and engineers. A complete, internally consistent application is worth more than picking a fast council.
Compare with other councils
Timaru District Council
16 working days total, 40th of 66
Central Otago District Council
17 working days total, 42nd of 66
Every council, ranked: consent processing times · consent fees compared · all 66 councils · what we can check in Central Hawke's Bay
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