Can I borrow against my property if it has unconsented work or no code compliance certificate?

“The sleepout was there when we bought it. I don’t think it was ever consented. Can I still borrow against the property?” Mr hears a version of this from owners across the country, usually after they’ve decided to use their property to fund the business and then remembered the garage conversion, the deck or the extra bedroom nobody ever signed off.

The honest answer is “often yes, but it depends what the work is”. Unconsented work is a quality of security question, and it’s one you can usually get ahead of.

Does unconsented work stop me borrowing against my property?

Not automatically. A lender looks at whether the property is a sound, saleable security. Unconsented work affects that in three ways:

• Value. A valuer may price the property as it lawfully stands, without the unconsented area, or with an allowance for risk.
• Risk. Work that touches structure, wiring, plumbing, drainage or fire safety is a bigger worry than cosmetic work.
• Saleability. If a lender ever had to sell, an unconsented bedroom or bathroom could make the sale harder.

Property-secured business loans run from $20,000 to $5,000,000, as first or second mortgages or caveat-style security over residential or commercial property. Plenty of that lending sits on properties with a small paperwork gap somewhere. The size of the gap is what matters.

Mr says: Lenders don’t mind a known issue they can price. They mind finding one the owner didn’t mention.

What’s the difference between unconsented work and a missing CCC?

They sound alike but the fix is different.

Situation	What it means	Usual fix
Work done with no consent	Nobody checked it at the time	Apply for a certificate of acceptance (if it qualifies), or check whether it was exempt
Consented, but no code compliance certificate	The consent was issued, but the final sign-off never happened	Ask the council what’s outstanding; the fix may be a final inspection
Consent lapsed or never completed	Work may be part-done or done differently	Talk to the council; you may need a new consent or a CoA
Work that didn’t need a consent	Schedule 1 exemptions (small, low-risk work)	Keep evidence of what it is and when it was done

Check the council file first. Owners are often surprised: some “unconsented” work turns out to have a consent, and some “missing” CCCs are simply a final inspection that never got booked.

How does a certificate of acceptance work?

A certificate of acceptance (CoA) is the council’s tool for putting unconsented work on the record. According to building.govt.nz, you can apply for one where work was done without a building consent that should have had one, or where a CCC can’t be issued. A few points that matter for borrowing:

• It’s a council decision. You apply on Form 8, and the council can grant or decline.
• It only covers what could be inspected. The council “can only approve what it was able to inspect”, so the certificate may cover only some elements. Work hidden behind linings may be listed as excluded.
• Time limit. The council should process applications within 20 working days.
• If declined, the council must issue a notice to fix setting out the remedial work needed.
• Once issued, no building consent is needed for that work.

The application needs plans and specifications, an explanation of why no consent was sought, and the council’s charge, plus any fees or levies that would have applied had you applied for a consent in the first place.

The part many owners miss: a CoA is not a guarantee that everything is fine. Read the certificate itself, including any exclusions, because a lender or valuer will.

What if the work was done before 1 July 1992?

Different rules. MBIE’s guide for building officials says a CoA cannot be issued if the building work was carried out before 1 July 1992. That’s the date the Building Act 1991 consent provisions took effect.

For older work, some councils invite a report from a suitably qualified building professional, such as a registered engineer or licensed building practitioner. Whether that’s accepted, and what it covers, is the council’s call, so phone before you pay anyone for a report.

Pre-1992 work done decades ago and lived in safely is a different risk picture from a conversion last year. A lender and valuer can usually see that.

Which unconsented work worries lenders most?

Mr’s rough ranking, from easiest to hardest:

1. Cosmetic or minor, such as a low deck, a pergola or a shed that may have been exempt.
2. Outbuildings, such as a sleepout or garage with no plumbing.
3. Converted garages or lofts used as living space.
4. Extra bedrooms, bathrooms or kitchens, particularly self-contained flats.
5. Structural changes like removed walls, new floors or major re-piling.

Anything with plumbing, wiring, drainage or fire separation draws more attention. The reason is simple: those are the things that fail badly.

Could my work have been exempt from consent?

Possibly. Schedule 1 of the Building Act lists building work that doesn’t need a consent. There’s also a newer exemption for small standalone dwellings, often called the granny flats exemption. building.govt.nz says it covers standalone dwellings up to 70 square metres, built or supervised by licensed building professionals, with the homeowner notifying council before building starts and again when it’s finished. The guidance was updated on 8 October 2026 to reflect amendments to Schedule 1A.

Two cautions. First, that page doesn’t say the exemption applies to buildings that already exist unconsented, so don’t assume a past sleepout qualifies retroactively. Second, if you’re planning a new small dwelling on a property you intend to borrow against, doing it under the exemption, with the council notices lodged, gives you a cleaner paper trail than winging it.

What should I do before I apply?

Here’s the sequence that saves the most grief:

1. List everything that was built, converted or altered since the house was originally built, with approximate dates.
2. Request the council property file and see what’s on it: consents, CCCs, plans.
3. Sort each item into a bucket: consented and signed off, consented but not signed off, exempt, or unconsented.
4. Decide what’s worth fixing. A CoA for a converted garage may add value. A CoA for a shed that was exempt anyway may not be worth it.
5. Check your insurance. Insurers also ask about unconsented work, and a gap there can be a bigger problem than the loan.
6. Tell the lender up front, with the paperwork.

Want to see where your property equity stands before you go digging? The funding readiness check is a quick way to get your numbers straight, and if you’re ready to talk, you can check your options here without a credit check at the enquiry stage.

Mr’s rule of thumb: If the unconsented work doesn’t matter to value or safety, say so and show why. If it does matter, fix it or exclude it from the security conversation. Silence is the one thing that doesn’t work.

Illustrative example: the yard-and-workshop owner

This example is invented to show how the process works. It isn’t a real client.

A landscaping business owner in Tauranga wants to borrow against her home as a second mortgage to buy a new truck and cover a slow winter. Her property includes a 1990s sleepout with a small bathroom, which she believes was built before she bought it. There’s no consent on the council file, and she suspects the work was done after 1992.

Her steps:

• She requests the council file and confirms there’s no consent or CCC for the sleepout.
• She asks the council whether a CoA is realistic. They say it may be, subject to inspection of the plumbing and drainage.
• She tells the lender early, with a photo and a note on what she’s doing about it.
• The lender values the home with the sleepout excluded and finds the equity is still enough for the amount she needs.

The sleepout didn’t sink the loan because the borrowing didn’t depend on it. She applies for the CoA afterwards, to tidy things up for insurance and a future sale. Had the loan needed that extra value, the CoA would have had to come first.

How does this affect how much I can borrow?

Unconsented work usually changes the value a lender will lean on, not the lending range itself. Your borrowing still comes down to:

• the property’s value as it lawfully stands;
• what’s already registered against it, such as your first mortgage;
• the purpose of the loan and how it’s repaid;
• your business’s position, with IRD obligations and credit history considered case by case.

If the numbers only work with the unconsented space included, expect a CoA to be requested first. If they work without it, the paperwork can often be sorted out afterwards. Our guides on what lenders check on a property and how much equity you need show how that maths works, and the pages on borrowing against your house for business and cross-lease titles cover the other common title snags. If trading income is strong, an unsecured option sized on turnover and bank statements, typically $5,000 to $500,000, may avoid the property question altogether.

Ask Mr about your property and the paperwork behind it

Properties with a past are normal. Almost every owner Mr talks to has a deck, a conversion or an alteration somewhere in the file history. What helps is knowing exactly what yours is, before anyone else points it out.

Asking is simple. The enquiry takes about a minute, and your credit file isn’t touched just for asking. We don’t send your details to a pile of lenders, so you won’t be fielding calls from strangers. A real person reads your enquiry, looks at your property and business together, and phones you, with an honest “fix this first” if that’s the best advice.

One favour: please fill the form in accurately. Mention the unconsented work, roughly what it is and whether any certificate has been applied for. Accurate answers mean the first option we raise is one that actually fits.

Find out where you stand →