Getting informed on consent

Adding an extra bedroom or standalone flat with a garage conversion is a great way to add value to a property.

Chucking up some gib and a bit of insulation isn't hard. But getting it through council is another story.

Your garage conversion will almost certainly need consent under the Building Act 2004, because you're changing the building use. Owners who want to go a step further and add a kitchen or kitchenette, will need both a building consent and a resource consent. What's more, resource consents require development contribution fees.

It's never a good idea to convert your garage without consent. Prospective owners can discover unconsented works by checking the council file, and they may walk away as a result or at least use the works as a bargaining wedge.

Once you get into building consent territory you need professional help. The standards you have to meet are higher than just a bit of DIY building. For example, you may find you need a membrane under the concrete slab or that the floor level needs raising before consent is granted. But if you raise the floor you may face problems of there being insufficient headroom.

Depending on the work you have in mind, you may need to use a Licensed Building Practitioner if the work relates to the structure and weathertightness of the building. That's what's known as "restricted building work" under the Building Act.

Or if you need to install new pipes, for example, you'll have to use a licensed plumber or drainlayer. The council doesn't want cowboys working on sewers.

The council will grant consent only if it's confident the proposed work will meet the Building Code. For this reason it's often worth getting advice from your builder, a surveyor or an architect. They will have dealt with councils before, know how to make the application easily understood and accurate, and can help shepherd the plans through council.

Once your application is lodged, the council has 20 days to process it, but can stop the clock if more information is needed. A useful flowchart for the process can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/consentflowchart

If you buy a property with an unconsented garage, you can get conveyancing insurance, which protects you and subsequent owners against certain actions by the council, says Jonathan Flaws, property lawyer at Sanderson Weir.

The insurance covers some of the costs of defending legal action against you and the costs of obtaining a "Certificate of Acceptance" from the council.

"An insurance policy is never a panacea for all ills, and if you are carrying out alterations our advice is always to go through the process of ensuring the correct building permits and compliance certificates are obtained," says Flaws.

"Getting insurance after the event is never as good as not requiring it in the first place.

But if you are marketing your property for sale and you have unpermitted work, (taking out a) policy to cover the issue may be an alternative way to manage the risk and obtain a better price," he says.