Does a garage door job need a building consent?
MBIE's guidance on Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004 lists the building work that can go ahead without a building consent. It talks about doors, windows and exterior doorways, but it never names garage doors.
Two of its exemptions come closest. Exemption 1 covers repairing and maintaining a building product, and replacing one with a comparable product in the same position. Exemption 8 covers building work in connection with an exterior doorway in an existing home or outbuilding of not more than 2 storeys, and MBIE lists garages among outbuildings.
Because garage doors are never named, we don't tell anyone their job is exempt. In New Zealand the building consent authority is usually your council, so ask it before work starts. MBIE notes the council may charge a fee for that advice.
When a consent can still come into it
Exemption 8 does not cover replacing a doorway that failed the Building Code's durability provisions early. MBIE says doors and windows in an external wall must usually last at least 15 years, so replacing one that was put in within the last 15 years and has failed needs a building consent.
A bigger opening is a different job from a straight swap. MBIE's own example under exemption 8 is a builder changing French doors for a bi-fold door, where the wider opening needs a new lintel, listed as exempt work. So we never say a wider opening needs consent, or that it doesn't: ask the council about your own wall.
Work close to a load-bearing wall deserves professional advice, MBIE says, from a Chartered Professional Engineer, Registered Architect, building consultant or Registered Building Surveyor. Restricted building work, which covers a home's primary structure and weathertightness, has to be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner, and you can look an LBP up on the public register at lbp.govt.nz.
The rules at a glance
| What it means for a door job | |
|---|---|
| Building consent | Ask the council. MBIE's exemptions never name garage doors |
| Written contract | Required for residential building work of $30,000 or more, including GST |
| Checklist and disclosure statement | Before signing, when the work is likely to reach $30,000 including GST, or whenever you ask |
| Defects | Reported in writing within 12 months of the work being finished, the contractor must fix them |
| Implied warranties | Up to 10 years on residential building work, with or without a written contract (section 362I) |
| New wiring | Only registered and licensed electrical workers, with a Certificate of Compliance within 20 days |
Contracts, warranties and the paperwork you should get
MBIE's guide for contractors says a written contract is required for residential building work of $30,000 or more, including GST, when the builder contracts directly with the homeowner, and it recommends a contract for smaller jobs too. Before you sign a contract of that size you should get the consumer protection checklist and a disclosure statement about the contractor's skills, licensing status and insurance.
Once any residential building work is finished, whatever its size, the contractor must hand over copies of any insurance policy for the work, any guarantees or warranties, and information on how to maintain it. MBIE's guide speaks about residential building work in general, so ask the door specialist how it applies to your job.
For a new door, keep the care sheet and the warranty card together. Dominator's opener warranty depends on servicing within 12 months of installation and at least once every 2 years after that.
Openers, gates and electrical work
A new power point for an opener or a gate motor, or any hard wiring, is fixed wiring. The Electrical Workers Registration Board says only registered and licensed electrical workers can carry out or supervise prescribed electrical work, and they must issue a Certificate of Compliance for fixed wiring work, including new power points, no later than 20 days after it is done.
You can check an electrical worker on the Electrical Workers Public Register by name or registration number, and ask to see their licence ID. The EWRB says to check the licence has not expired and the photo matches the person.
Exempt or not, all building work must still meet the Building Code and other laws, MBIE says, including the Electricity Act 1992 and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010.
If the work falls short
The Consumer Guarantees Act expects a service to be done with reasonable care and skill, and to be fit for the purpose you asked for. If a service misses one of those guarantees and the fault can be fixed, Consumer Protection says you can require the business to put it right within a reasonable time.
If the business refuses or drags its feet, Consumer Protection says you can have the work fixed elsewhere and recover the costs, or cancel the contract. Put your complaint to the business in writing first.
Before you agree to a job
- Ask the council about consent if the opening, the lintel or the wall framing is changing
- Get the quote and the scope of work in writing, even for a small job
- Ask who will do any new power point, and keep the Certificate of Compliance
- Keep the care sheet and warranty card, and note when the first service is due
- Check an LBP on lbp.govt.nz if the job touches the structure of the house
What we would do
Ring your council before the work starts if anything about the opening changes. A like-for-like door in the same opening is the simple case, but MBIE's guidance never names garage doors, and a short question now is far easier than a notice to fix later.