New legislation allowing people to build granny flats of up to 70 square metres in their backyards without a building consent is now in place, and is expected to come into effect early next year.

The building consent exemption for granny flats will be given effect by the Building and Construction (Small Standalone Dwellings) Bill and associated regulations, via a change to the Resource Management Act (RMA).

The Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) building team is preparing for changes to accommodate the legislation, a council spokesperson told the Wānaka App.

Building and construction minister Chris Penk said the exemption is expected to deliver roughly 13,000 more granny flats over the next decade, meaning more work for builders without local councils managing unnecessary consenting burdens for simple building work.

“Local councils will be freed up to focus their attention on more complex building work where the need for an inspection and thorough consenting processes is much greater,” he said.

Chris said people will only be eligible for a building consent exemption “if their granny flats are simple in design, meet the Building Code and building work is carried out by authorised building professionals”.

Homeowners will also need to notify their local council before they begin building and once the granny flat is completed.

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” a Wānaka resident told the Wānaka App.

She said she and her husband are hoping to use the exemption to help their wider family into housing.

“We have some of the highest rentals in the OECD. And a 20 percent housing deposit is going to be $300,000 plus. That’s an awful lot of money to cough up, especially if you’re starting a family at the same time and are going down to one income for a time.

“What a beautiful solution it would be to have people living with their families and getting support from their families first and foremost, and not stressing about huge mortgages that they can’t afford.”

The QLDC spokesperson said the building services team is preparing “for some process changes to accommodate these new Project Information Memoranda (PIM) applications relating to proposed ‘granny flat’ exemptions”. 

“We won’t know until early next year exactly when these will come into force, but we’re abreast of the proposed changes and working to fully understand the assessment test and requirements so we can guide our district’s construction community effectively,” the spokesperson said.

Any building work on a granny flat that is either in progress now or starts before the exemption comes into effect will continue to require a building consent.

Find the government’s specific design requirements for a granny flat here.

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