Building in Rotorua

Rotorua Lakes Council has adopted the Regional Infrastructure Technical Specifications as its Code of Practice. This replaces the previous Regional Civil Engineering Industry Standards.

View the Regional Infrastructure Technical Specifications (colabsolutions.govt.nz)

Development Contributions Policy

If you’re looking to build, subdivide, or connect to Council services here in Rotorua, you may need to pay a development contribution fee. Find out more about this on the Development Contributions Policy page on our website.

Development Contributions Policy

Click to read the full version of the Geothermal Guidelines booklet - PDF, 20.3MB

Identifying geothermal hazards

Rotorua is known for its vibrant geothermal landscape. While beautiful, this volatile environment makes for specific challenges in the building industry here in Rotorua.

With the adoption of Plan Change 9, the District Plan now includes a requirement for most types of buildings in the Rotorua Geothermal System to submit to council, at the same time as a building consent application, an assessment of geothermal hazards and mitigation (Rule NH-R8).

The assessment is to be prepared by a suitably qualified and experienced person. The intention is that this assessment will encourage broad consideration of how to manage geothermal hazards. Completing the assessment should also assist to address the requirements of the Building Code.

Geothermal Hazard Guidelines

Read the Geothermal Guidelines Fact Sheet - PDF, 382KB

The Geothermal Hazard Guidelines are intended to support the preparation of these assessments, providing guidance on key matters including how to identify hazard, potential options for mitigation, who should be involved in assessing the hazard and designing mitigation options.

These Guidelines are a must read for anyone in the Rotorua construction industry, or anyone considering building, extending or renovating in the Rotorua district, and have been developed to help people better understand the risks and the requirements of working in a geothermal environment.

Our goal is to help local construction industry create developments that are safe, healthy and comfortable for our community.

Read the full version of the Geothermal Guidelines - PDF, 20.3MB

Earthquake-prone buildings

For a list of identified earthquake-prone buildings (EPBs) within the Rotorua region, and information on how these buildings are identified and managed, read our information page.

Read more about earthquake-prone buildings in Rotorua

Building and consents in Rotorua

Find out more about the process of applying for building consents in Rotorua. Council's building department covers commercial, industrial and residential consents and can help you understand the unique landscape if you are looking to build within our region.

Read more about applying for building consents

Other useful resources

Air quality and home heating in Rotorua

List of Structural and Geotechnical Engineers in Rotorua - (PDF, 50.2KB)