Owner_Builder_exemption

Owner-Builder exemption in New Zealand

Taken from the MBIE website:

"Obligations and responsibilities of owner-builders and their building project

You can build, renovate or repair your own home using the Owner-Builder Exemption, but you still need to meet Building Code requirements, apply for any consents and let your council know.

The Owner-Builder Exemption ensures the Kiwi tradition of DIY building work can continue.

If you're a homeowner who qualifies for the exemption, you will not need to be or use a licensed building practitioner (LBP) for any restricted building work on your home. However, you will still need to apply for a building consent.

You can apply for the exemption when you submit your building consent application. Any work you do will be listed as a do-it-yourself job on your Land Information Memorandum for any future buyers to see.

All the building work you do must still comply with the Building Code, and will be inspected as usual during your building process. You are responsible for the quality of work or any defects.

There are criteria you need to meet to be considered an owner-builder. You are an owner-builder if you:

    -live in or are going to live in the home (this includes a bach or holiday home)
    -carry out the restricted building work to your own home yourself, or with the help of your unpaid friends and family members
   -have not used the Owner-Builder Exemption to carry out restricted building work to any other home in the previous 3 years.

Who can do the work

As an owner-builder, family members and friends can help you with restricted building work on your home as long as you are not paying them.

Any restricted building work that is not done by you or your unpaid friends or family members must be carried out or supervised by an LBP who holds the appropriate licence class. They must also give you a Record of Work.

You can still hire a designer to draw your plans. If the design includes restricted building work they will need to provide a Certificate of Work.

Your council will record the work and who it was carried out by on your LIM.

If you decide to sell the home, future buyers will have access to this information showing whether the building work was carried out by the owner or an LBP."

My comments

The MBIE advice is a reasonable overview. However MBIE and others in the industry may not give you the full picture or may suggest that some restricted building work cannot be done by the owner-builder. There is no legal basis to support this advice.

Such advice may be intended to avoid the situation where unskilled owners attempt work beyond their competence or to protect an industry or trade from erosion of their market.

Restricted building work is defined by law here.

As an example of work you can do and not be aware of, owner-builders may do their own electrical work (industry advice is generally that this is illegal, contrary to fact) and this is set out here.

Taking this example further, this code covers low voltage (230V) which is not the only way of powering your home. Another possible way is extra low voltage (less than a nominal 50V) with plug in inverters for low voltage loads. I mention this because the cost of being tied to the grid is getting to be untenable.

The important point is not too take on work that is beyond you. But if your aspirations are modest and you have the aptitude to learn basic skills then you will likely do as well if not better than the pros.

This is by way of introduction. I hope to add to this as I am able.

Cheers,
Stephen                                                                                                             18 October 2025