Frequently asked questions

Only if it is a building. Section 8 of the Building Act treats a vehicle as a building when it is immovable AND occupied by people on a permanent or long-term basis — both halves. Separately, connecting it to on-site utility services such as stormwater or foul water needs a building consent regardless.

Schedule 1A of the Building Act lets an eligible dwelling of up to 70 m² be built without a building consent, provided it meets specific design and construction conditions, the restricted building work is designed and built or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner, and the homeowner notifies the council before construction begins and after it is completed.

Up to 10 m², Schedule 1 exemption 3 may allow it — single storey, no sanitary facilities or potable water storage, and sleeping only where it is used in connection with a dwelling and has no cooking facilities. From 10 to 30 m² you need exemption 3A, 3B or 43.

Not under Schedule 1. MBIE says detached buildings built under Schedule 1 "cannot contain sanitary facilities or facilities for the storage of potable water". A bathroom moves you to the Schedule 1A granny flat exemption or a building consent.

Yes, in full. "All building work must comply with the Building Code, even if it does not require a building consent" (MBIE). The exemption removes the council's check, not the standard.

Possibly. Building consent and resource consent run under different Acts. Your district plan governs what can go where, and MBIE says a tiny house classed as a vehicle may still fit as a dwelling under the Resource Management Act.

The lowest published from-price we have verified is $47,500 for a 6 m studio (Smart Housing Solutions, read 15 September 2026). Trade Me's buyer article puts the market at "under $5,000 to over $260,000". Both are the price of the home only.

Typically delivery, site preparation, power, plumbing and drainage connections, and council fees. Smart Housing Solutions publishes ranges of $1,500–8,000 for site prep, $1,500–4,000 for power, $1,500–6,000 for plumbing and typically $1,500–5,000 for consent fees.

Because we would have to make it up. We have verified two builders' published price lists, and two price lists is not an average.

There is no national figure. Each council sets its own, and MBIE says they are generally set to recover reasonable costs and depend on the amount of work involved. Ask your council for its current schedule.

That is the plan — homes from NZ builders who have signed a commission agreement with us. None are listed yet, because nothing goes up before an agreement is signed and before we have a lawyer's view on how selling on commission should be structured.

The builder, under the builder's own sale agreement. We never take or hold a deposit and we are not a party to your contract.

No. Our commission comes out of the builder's side of the sale, not on top of the price they advertise.

We check the consent path a listing claims against the MBIE guidance, and any LBP number claimed against the public register. We do not inspect the build and we will never describe a builder as vetted or recommended.

A $49 digital download that turns the rules on this site into the steps for one build: the consent path, the council checklist, the site questions, an all-in cost worksheet and a dated source list. It is not on sale yet — the button joins a waitlist and takes no payment.

MBIE is free and we link it on every page. The guide sells the work of turning 25 pages of guidance into your build's checklist, not access to the rules. If you would rather do that work yourself, everything we quote is here for nothing.

The guide, and commission paid by builders when a listed home sells. No advertising, no paid rankings, no affiliate links, and we never sell your details.

No. Placement is not for sale at any price.