Building duration of eleven months and expenditure of $38,000, yet no official consent secured for granny flat construction

In July, the Sansons initiated a formal complaint to the Waikato District Council regarding the prolonged and costly process of acquiring a building consent for a cottage on their property. Their frustration is echoed by Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, who has expressed concern over property owners grappling to secure consents, with councils allegedly shifting the goalposts.

The Sansons' predicament commenced when a natural hazard map indicated up to 250mm of water could accumulate in the backyard where the cottage was intended to be constructed. This revelation led to a series of requests for additional information from the local building authority, causing the Sansons to pause the process and lodge a second formal complaint.

The council's latest request for further information centered around the potential ponding of water in the Sansons' backyard. The council mandates clear evidence of how stormwater will be managed, a requirement that has added thousands more to the Sansons' costs, as they were asked to provide an engineer's report, full working drawings, an acoustic report, and additional planner's fees.

The council's deputy general manager of customer support, Imelda Bolton, stated that three queries remained relating to stormwater management, natural hazard management, and protection of potable water supply. The council evaluates applications against legislation and cannot provide design solutions, placing the onus on the Sansons and their experts to furnish the necessary information regarding stormwater management.

In a positive development, Penk announced the government's plan to eliminate the need for consent for granny flats up to 70 square meters on a single parcel of land. This new National Environmental Standard (NES) will require all councils to permit granny flats in rural and residential zones without the need for resource consent, a move that could potentially alleviate the Sansons' struggle.

However, the proposed new legislation will proceed to Select Committee in a couple of weeks, and it remains to be seen how it will impact the Sansons' case. The council, in response to the Sansons' second formal complaint in late August, apologized for the delays in processing the resource consent, citing staff illness and reallocation as the reasons.

Despite the challenges, the Sansons were informed it was possible that their elderly parent might not be able to relocate onto their property due to the ongoing issues with the consent process. The Sansons have spent $38,000 on resources and building consent for the cottage, a substantial sum that has yet to yield a usable consent.

The Sansons' case underscores the intricacies and costs involved in obtaining building consents, a problem that Minister Penk and the government are working to address. The Sansons continue to collaborate with the council to resolve the outstanding issues and bring their cottage project to fruition.