A Notice to Fix is a statutory notice under the Building Act.
It tells the specified person what the responsible authority says is wrong or not being complied with, what needs to happen next, and the timeframe for complying with the notice.
The safest starting point is not to guess why the notice was issued or whether it is legally correct.
Start with the document itself.
Record:
Who the notice is addressed to → exactly what contravention/non-compliance it states → exactly what action it requires → the actual compliance date/timeframe → any immediate stop-work direction → any consent, CoA, amendment or other process it requires → the evidence and professional input needed → the follow-up the council requires
SeekSaver does not determine whether your Notice to Fix is legally valid or whether the stated work complies with the Building Act or Building Code.
Jump to the Notice to Fix Action & Evidence Record
Start by reading the actual Notice to Fix
The prescribed national document is Form 13 — Notice to Fix.
Form 13 identifies:
- the person or people the notice is directed to;
- the building/property;
- the stated contravention or non-compliance;
- what must be done to remedy it;
- the date or timeframe for compliance;
- any applicable contact requirement;
- any immediate direction to stop all or specified building work.
Do not begin with a generic online checklist.
Your own Form 13 is the project-specific record.
Make a copy and keep the original unchanged.
Check who the notice is addressed to
Section 163 defines the people who can be “specified persons” for the Notice to Fix framework.
That includes the building owner. Where the notice relates to building work being carried out, it can also include the person carrying out the work and, where applicable, someone supervising it.
Do not assume:
“The builder is responsible, so this notice does not concern me.”
And do not assume:
“The owner received it, therefore the builder has also legally been issued the same notice.”
Instead, record the actual addressee(s) shown on your Form 13.
For each person, note:
- name;
- role;
- address/contact shown;
- what part of the required response appears to involve them;
- whether clarification from the issuing authority is needed.
Record the exact contravention or non-compliance stated
Section 164 applies where a responsible authority considers on reasonable grounds that one of the statutory grounds exists—for example, a specified person is contravening or failing to comply with the Building Act or regulations.
But that does not mean SeekSaver should translate the notice into a stronger accusation.
Copy or accurately summarise the authority's wording.
For example, record:
“Notice states that specified building work was carried out without the required building consent.”
Do not rewrite that as:
“The builder illegally built this.”
The first records the regulatory position stated in the notice.
The second adds a legal conclusion and fault attribution that this guide cannot make.
Record exactly what the notice requires
A Notice to Fix is not just a description of a problem.
Section 164 requires it to tell the specified person what must be done to remedy the contravention or comply with the Act/regulations. Section 165 then allows particular requirements depending on the situation.
Your notice might require, depending on its actual wording:
- particular remedial building work;
- an application for a Certificate of Acceptance;
- a building-consent application;
- an amendment to an existing building consent;
- contact with the territorial or regional authority after required building work is completed;
- another action specified by the responsible authority.
Those are possible statutory requirements.
They are not a universal checklist.
Create one action row for every separate requirement in the actual notice.
Use the timeframe stated in your notice
There is no universal SeekSaver Notice to Fix deadline.
Section 165 says the notice must state a reasonable timeframe within which it must be complied with.
Form 13 then contains the specific date or timeframe that applies to the actual notice.
Record:
- issue date;
- compliance date/timeframe;
- any separate dates stated for particular steps;
- when you first contacted the authority;
- any later written authority direction affecting the process.
Do not replace the stated timeframe with a generic number of days found online.
If you are unclear about what the stated timeframe means or what action is expected by that point, contact the authority promptly.
Check immediately for a stop-work direction
A Notice to Fix relating to building work may direct:
- that the site be made safe immediately; and
- that all or specified building work cease immediately,
until the responsible authority is satisfied that the person carrying out the work can resume in compliance with the Act and regulations.
If your notice contains such a direction, treat it as a priority item.
Record:
- whether all work or only specified work is affected;
- the exact wording;
- any safety exception/direction stated;
- the authority contact;
- any written authority decision about resuming work.
Do not use this guide as authority to continue work contrary to a stop-work direction.
Identify the regulatory pathway the notice actually requires
A Notice to Fix can lead into another regulatory process.
The important phrase is:
can lead
—not “always requires”.
Certificate of Acceptance
Where work was carried out without a required building consent, section 165 allows the Notice to Fix to require a CoA application.
If your notice does that, use SeekSaver's Certificate of Acceptance NZ guide for the separate application/evidence process.
Do not assume every case of unconsented work automatically requires CoA.
Building consent
If the notice requires new building work to remedy the issue, it may require a building-consent application for that remedial work.
Use Building Consent Application NZ for that separate process.
Amendment to an existing consent
Where appropriate, the notice may require an amendment to an existing building consent.
Use Building Consent Changes NZ for the regulatory amendment workflow.
Other remedial action
The notice may instead state specific remedial work or another authority-directed action.
Follow the actual notice and the authority's instructions.
Organise evidence and professional input around the notice
Do not collect random paperwork.
Start from each requirement in Form 13.
For each action, ask:
- What does the notice require?
- What evidence will show the action was completed?
- Does the authority require a drawing, certificate, photograph, report or consent record?
- Does the work need professional design or technical input?
- Does it need an inspection?
- Who is responsible for providing the evidence?
Possible evidence might include, depending on the notice:
- updated drawings;
- building-consent or amendment records;
- CoA documents;
- photographs;
- engineer/designer information;
- trade certificates;
- inspection records;
- correspondence;
- other documents specifically requested by the authority.
Those are examples only.
Do not assume every notice requires them.
Communicate using the authority's reference
Keep council/BCA communication tied to the Notice to Fix reference.
Record:
- notice reference;
- authority;
- contact person/team if given;
- date;
- communication method;
- question asked;
- response received;
- document sent;
- next action.
Where you receive important verbal guidance, ask whether the authority can confirm the project-specific direction in writing where appropriate.
The purpose is not to build a legal case.
It is to keep the regulatory process understandable and traceable.
When the required building work is complete, follow the notice's contact requirement
Section 165 requires a Notice to Fix that requires building work to also require contact with the relevant territorial or regional authority when that building work is completed.
MBIE's homeowner guidance similarly says the specified person should let the council know once the relevant required work has been completed.
Record:
- date completion was notified;
- authority/reference;
- evidence supplied;
- inspection/review booking if applicable.
Do not mark the Notice to Fix as “complied with” merely because you believe the remedial work has been completed.
The statutory confirmation comes from the relevant authority.
What happens after completion is notified?
Section 167 contains a specific process where the Notice to Fix required the specified person to notify the territorial or regional authority on completion of the relevant building work.
After receiving that notification, the authority must inspect the work, or arrange an authorised inspection.
It must then give the specified person written notice either:
- confirming that the Notice to Fix has been complied with; or
- refusing to confirm compliance.
This distinction should control your project record.
Safe statuses are:
- Completion notification not yet sent
- Completion notified
- Inspection/review pending
- Written confirmation received
- Written refusal received
- Further Notice to Fix received
- Needs clarification
Do not create a SeekSaver status such as:
Legally compliant
If the authority refuses to confirm compliance
Section 167 says that if the territorial or regional authority refuses to confirm the Notice to Fix has been complied with, it must:
- give the specified person written notice of the refusal;
- give the reasons for that refusal; and
- issue a further Notice to Fix in respect of the building work.
Keep:
- written refusal;
- reasons;
- further Notice to Fix;
- new notice reference;
- new timeframe;
- new required actions.
Do not simply overwrite the first notice in your records.
The history may matter for understanding what the authority required at each stage.
Do not ignore a Notice to Fix
Section 168 makes failure to comply with a Notice to Fix an offence.
This guide does not provide strategies for:
- delaying enforcement;
- hiding work;
- avoiding inspections;
- bypassing a stop-work direction;
- defeating the notice procedurally.
If there is genuine uncertainty about:
- what the notice means;
- whether technical remedial work is appropriate;
- a significant legal issue;
get the appropriate project-specific professional or legal advice promptly.
That is different from assuming the notice is invalid and doing nothing.
A Notice to Fix does not automatically mean the builder is at fault
The Notice to Fix is a regulatory instrument.
Its existence does not automatically determine:
- who caused the problem;
- whether a building contractor breached the contract;
- whether workmanship is legally defective;
- whether compensation is owed.
If there is a separate workmanship or contractor-remedy issue, SeekSaver's Renovation Defects NZ guide owns that process.
Keep the regulatory record and private contractual issue separate.
Recent determinations show why facts matter
Recent MBIE determinations illustrate that Notice to Fix disputes can turn on very specific facts.
Determination 2026/009 considered a notice concerning completed residential building work, including whether a notice could be issued after the work was completed, what was known about timing and whether the stated remedies were appropriate.
Determination 2026/034, issued 16 September 2026, considered whether the installation of particular poles was actually “building work” regulated under the Building Act.
Those determinations do not mean your notice has the same answer.
They demonstrate why SeekSaver should organise the notice and evidence rather than attempt to rule on legal validity.
Keep the final Notice to Fix record
Retain, where applicable:
- original Form 13;
- later/further Notice to Fix;
- authority correspondence;
- drawings/reports;
- relevant consent/amendment/CoA records;
- evidence of remedial work;
- inspection records;
- completion notification;
- written confirmation of compliance;
- written refusal and reasons;
- related project records.
If the required pathway eventually leads to final consented-work sign-off, use Code Compliance Certificate NZ for that separate stage.