Occupancy Permits

Occupancy Permits following Building Work

An occupancy permit is required before use of a building when a building permit prescribes that one is necessary. An occupancy permit is only to be issued when a building, or part of a building, is 'suitable to occupy'. Occupancy permits also play an important role in establishing the commencement date for builder's warrantees and, often, when the builder gets final payment. It is appropriate therefore that they are issued only when work is complete.

Old certificates of occupancy (issued under previous Acts) are deemed to be occupancy permits and are therefore equally legally enforceable.

Occupancy permits are not required for house alterations or minor building work where suitability of a building to be occupied is not affected. A requirement for an occupancy permit may also be temporarily waived by the issue of an approval to temporarily occupy by the relevant building surveyor. There is no power or requirement for older buildings constructed before present legislative requirements to obtain an occupancy permit unless new work is undertaken.

An application for the issue of an occupancy permit or an approval to temporarily occupy is to be made to the relevant building surveyor (ie the building surveyor who issued the building permit initiating the requirement for the occupancy permit).

Under the Building Act a separate fee is required for an application for an occupancy permit, although this is often included in the building permit quote.

Application for Occupancy Permit Form.doc (68.00 KB) 

Occupancy Permits for Places of Public Entertainment

A second form of occupancy permit exists for places of public entertainment - theatres, nightclubs, halls, sportsgrounds and certain large temporary structures (refer to the more detailed definitions in the Act and Regulations). These replace old approvals issued by the former State Health Department.

Such occupancy permits are required prior to conducting entertainment in a place of public entertainment - regardless of whether building work has been carried out. Applications may be made to the relevant building surveyor if building work has been carried out, otherwise they can only be made to the Municipal Building Surveyor - except in the case of large temporary structures - where applications can only be made to the Building Commission.

Application for Occupancy Permit - Place of Public Entertainment (133.00 KB) 

Checking if an Existing Occupancy Permit has been Issued

In addition to it being an offence to occupy a building which requires an occupancy permit where one is not issued, occupancy permits contain useful information such as the maximum number of persons for the building to be deemed suitable to occupy and the on-going performance requirements of essential services (primarily fire and other life-safety services in commercial buildings).

Applications for details of occupancy permits for any building may be made by any person to Council's Building Information and Registration section (see Selling and Buying Land). A small fee applies.

Amending an Existing Occupancy Permit (eg Change of Use)

If an occupancy permit is faulty because of incorrect information provided to the relevant building surveyor, the relevant building surveyor may cancel it and a new one will need to be applied for. Generally only the Municipal Building Surveyor may otherwise amend or cancel an existing occupancy permit, even one issued by a private building surveyor.