Code Compliance Certificates (CCC) are important when buying a home. Solicitors, insurance companies, banks and other lenders often require it – not to mention your own piece of mind too. But what if you find your dream home and the CCC has not yet been completed?
Not all is lost. The best place to start is with the property file to see what’s happened.
House, garage, carport, extensions, etc: Is there a Building Consent?
If the answer is yes, that’s a great start – we can dig a little deeper into the inspection records that have been carried out by the local council and see what red flags were raised. This then enables you to weigh up the costs involved in fixing these failed items. We can arrange your inspections – remember there could be more than one required.
Has anything been refused?
A refused application sounds a little scary, however we can assist in restarting a new application with council.
If the CCC application has been processed and has been refused, there will likely be a serious durability issue with the building work. In most cases we can help work through this to try and resolve any blocking issues.
Next, what documents are needed to support your CCC application?
Take a look at the consent conditions for the advice notes or 3rd party verification – these are the documents required outside of the Building Act, like Producer Statements and construction reviews. If the owner has these documents, that’s another step in the right direction. We can arrange to get the names of the tradespeople or companies that carried out the work and arrange getting the necessary documents.
Other considerations
Minor, un-consented work can potentially be removed, if you can live without it. Otherwise, all un-consented work will require a Certificate of Acceptance. Check the original plans to see if there has been anything added or removed since it was first constructed.
Ensure everything at the property is being used for its intended use. This could be a simple garage converted into a bedroom or a large workshop that the owner uses as a commercial space. This may seem like a good thing to take advantage of, however if you don’t have the proper consent (Building or Resource) the Council will require an amendment to the Building Consent, and/or Resource Consent for Change of Use.
Conclusion
Getting your dream home a CCC may not be impossible, however, weigh up the problems and costs involved to correct them. We can carry out a desktop survey to check the property file thoroughly and arrange a site visit.
Consider how much you actually love this house. If there is no consent at all, lots of failed inspections, and no details of the tradespeople who carried out the work, all of this will equate to a lot of time and money fixing potential problems.
Happy House Hunting!
