Restricted building work that needs to be done by a professional

What restricted building work (RBW) is

If your building work is critical to the integrity of your home, it may be RBW. This type of work ensures a property is structurally sound and weathertight.

Who can do RBW?

You need to use a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) to carry out or supervise RBW.

A Certificate of Design Work (CoW), completed in full, must be included in your building consent application. The CoW must be supplied by an LBP who has designed, or supervised the design of, the RBW.

​Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs)

LBPs are people who have shown through assessment that they meet the standard of skill and competence required in particular areas of building practice.

They are assessed before getting a licence, and need to keep their knowledge up to date to be re-licensed.

They include:

• designers
• registered architects (automatically treated as Design LBPs)
• chartered professional engineers (automatically treated as Design LBPs)
• carpenters
• roofers
• bricklayers and blocklayers
• external plasterers
• foundation layers.

There are separate licences for each of these building practitioners which recognise that they are competent in their specialist areas. Some tradespeople may have more than one licence.

Check that people you employ have the relevant licences

Check the people you hire to do your RBW have the relevant licence.

• Check if your architect is on the New Zealand Registered Architects Board register
• Check if your engineer is on the Engineering New Zealand (ex IPENZ) database
• Check if your LBP is on the Licensed Building Practitioners register.

LBPs can only complete RBW for which they are licensed. It is important you check with them that they have the relevant licence before you start your work.

For more information, visit the Licensed Building Practitioners website or read the RBW and licensed building practitioners brochure.

​Documentation of completed work

LBPs need to submit a record of work on completion of their building work. They must also give you (the owner or an agent acting on your behalf) a copy for your records.