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Home Property, housing and rates How to... building and resource consents Definitions

Definitions

There's a lot of terms used around building and resource consents that you may not be familiar with when you first encounter them. We've aimed here to give a quick guide to what some of these terms mean. 

Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE)
An Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) is a report outlining the possible effects of your proposed activity on the...
Building consent
A building consent verifies that the work proposed complies with the building code. If you’re planning any construction,...
Building file
A Building File Search is NOT a Land Information Memorandum (LIM). The information obtained via a Building File Search...
Building performance – what it is
The Building Performance section of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) manages the building...
Coastal marine area
The coastal marine area includes the foreshore, seabed, sea surface and air above the sea from the mean high water...
Coastal permit
A coastal permit is a permit to carry out an activity described in a regional coastal plan as a restricted coastal...
Code compliance certificate
A code compliance certificate is issued when a job is finished and the Council is satisfied building and plumbing work...
District plan
The Kāpiti Coast Operative District Plan contains rules about different types of activities in different parts of the...
Immediate pool area
The immediate pool area is the land in or on which the pool is situated, used for activities relating to or involving...
Independently qualified pool inspectors (IQPI)
An IQPI is someone who’s been approved by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to inspect and...
Land information memorandum (LIM)
A Land Information Memorandum (LIM) is a collation of the information Council holds on a property. Most people want a...
Licensed building practitioners (LBP)
A licensed building practitioner has been assessed as competent to carry out building work essential to the structure or...
Mean high water springs
The average of each pair of successive high waters during that period of about 24 hours in each semi-lunation...
Medium density residential standards
Medium density residential standards were introduced by central government in 2021, to boost housing supply and promote...
Minor variation
A minor variation to a building consent is considered to be one of the following or similar (but not limited...
Pool
Pool: a. means: any excavation or structure of a kind normally used for swimming, paddling, or bathing; or any product...
Project information memorandum (PIM)
A project information memorandum (PIM) is a detailed report relating to a specific project on a property. It discloses...
Resource consent
A resource consent is a written decision from the Council about something that may affect the environment or your...
Restricted building work (RBW)
Restricted building work (RBW) is design or construction work that is critical to the integrity of a building. From 1...
Small heated pool
A heated pool (such as a spa pool or a hot tub) that: has a water surface area of 5 square metres or less is designed...
Vertical datum
Vertical datum is a surveying term for specific points on the Earth with known heights, above or below sea level.  In...