How to Secure your Building Warrant of Fitness Successfully in Auckland

Here’s a quick overview on how to secure a Building Warrant of Fitness or BWoF:

To get a building consent approval you have to go to the building control department of the district or regional council. They have the legal jurisdiction over the area where your property is located. They will undertake the necessary building work in compliance with the performance-standard approved plans and specifications.

The council will be able to provide a document containing specified systems for your building. The compliance schedule states the specified systems, their performance standards and includes the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures needed to keep them in good working order.

You will also be provided with a Compliance schedule statement. This is a temporary written statement issued by the local council listing all the specified systems that are covered by your impending Compliance Schedule. This is given to you at the same time as the Code Compliance Certificate (CCC). You are required to display this in a public place and should be replaced every 12 months.

At the completion of your building work, the building consent authority will issue you a Code compliance certificate. This is to attest that the council finds your building work satisfactory and complies with the NZ Building Code.

Now if you think you’re going to fall behind schedule and there are unforeseen delays in your project, you will need to file a Form 11 application; this is a form for amending any change in your compliance schedule. This lets the council know the current state of your compliance schedule and its progress to date.

The Form 12A is officially known as the Certificate of compliance with inspection, maintenance and reporting. This is not a BWOF, but an inspection form that’s a step away from receiving a Form 12 (which is the BWOF). It may sound confusing, but just to be clear a Form 12A is not a Form 12.

So what is a Form 12A then?

This form is to verify that all inspection procedures have been duly carried out. They are issued noting each building’s specified systems, and confirm they have been inspected by an independent qualified person.

Now for the sought-after document that attests to the fruit of your labours is the Form 12 or Building Warrant of Fitness. This is the official written legal statement given annually by the council that should be publicly displayed in your building.

A building warrant of fitness is solid proof that your building has been duly inspected and maintained in accordance with the compliance schedule, for a period of 12 months prior to your issue date.

What are specified systems?

Specified systems are systems that improve the safety and functionality of a building.

Having specified systems means constant maintenance and the possibility of upgrades to ensure they stay up to standard. Specified systems can range from lifts, fire suppression systems, ventilation systems to escalators and automatic doors.