InternAl wAllS
exemption (ca) of Schedule 1
A building consent is not required for the following building work:
(ca) the construction, alteration, or removal of an internal wall (including the construction, alteration, or removal
of an internal doorway) in any existing building if—
(i) compliance with the provisions of the building code relating to structural stability is not reduced; and
(ii) the means of escape from fire provided within the building are not detrimentally affected; and
(iii) the wall is not made of units of material (such as brick, burnt clay, concrete, or stone) laid to a bond
in and joined together with mortar.
guidance
This exemption allows owners of buildings to alter, remove or construct certain internal walls.
To qualify, these internal walls cannot adversely affect:
• Structural stability. Many internal walls are non-load bearing. Therefore, altering or removing these walls
will not reduce a building’s compliance with structural stability. However, sometimes internal walls also
contain bracing elements, and altering or removing them may adversely affect the structural stability
of a building. Therefore, alteration or removal of internal walls without a building consent should only
be undertaken to non-load bearing walls.
• Means of escape from fire. If building work on the internal wall detrimentally affects the means
of escape for occupants from fire, then a building consent will be required. The reason for this limitation
is that building new internal walls could make it more difficult for someone to escape from the building
in the event of fire.
In addition, the construction, alteration and removal of internal masonry walls will still require a building
consent. Masonry walls are walls that are made of units held together by mortar, for example brick,
concrete block or stone. These walls can be very heavy and, if they are not adequately supported,
the consequence of the wall collapsing would be greater than that of a timber-framed wall, particularly
for young children.
exAmpleS where thIS exem
