Minor dwellings that complement and improve the value of your property.
Changes to the Auckland council unitary plan have made it easier to add a minor dwelling to your property. In some cases a minor dwelling can now be built without resource consent.
Check out our smart building plans for minor dwellings and call us to build 70m2 minor dwellings or smaller sleepouts and cabins.
Smart planning and the right choice in materials will ensure a cost effective build that compliments and adds value to your property.
What is a Minor Dwelling in Auckland?
A minor dwelling is a secondary dwelling on a residential property that is smaller than the main house. A minor dwelling has a maximum floor area of 70 square meters, excluding decks and garages. Minor dwellings cannot be located on sites without a principal dwelling and only one minor dwelling is allowed per site.
5 steps to building a quality Minor Dwelling
- Make smart design and material choices that work with your budget
- Understand costs and mitigate risks
- Ensure good communication between all involved
- Understand and manage the consent process effectively
- Use professional project management to complete on time and within budget
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Build off Our Minor Dwelling Plans
Minor Dwellings vs Sleepouts / Cabins
Minor dwellings are a class of secondary dwelling. Minor dwellings up to 70 square metres can be built without resource consent whereas sleep outs and cabins up to 30 square metres can be built without building consent. Consent free minor dwellings must exclude a kitchen and be for residential use whereas sleep outs and cabins will need consent to contain cooking or sanitary facilities, or a potable water supply.
There are many other differences so it is recommended to work with a Licenced Builder to make the right choices for your build.
Does a minor dwelling in Auckland require resource consent?
Zones Allowing Minor Dwellings Without Resource Consent
- Single House Zone: Allowed as long as it meets the maximum size (70m2), offers outdoor living space, and only one such dwelling is on the site.
- Waitākere Foothills Zone & Waitākere Ranges Zone: Allowed as long it meets size limits (70m2), color requirements, access, and other standards. Only one minor dwelling per site.
Zones Requiring Resource Consent (Restricted Discretionary Activity)
- Large Lot Zone: Consent needed. Must meet size limit (70m2), provide outdoor living space, limit of one minor dwelling per site.
- Rural and Coastal Settlement Zone: Consent needed. Size limits apply and only one minor dwelling allowed.
- Rural Zones (Production, Mixed Rural, Rural Coastal, Rural Conservation, Countryside Living): Consent needed. Size (70m2), yard setbacks, site size requirements (more than 1ha), and one minor dwelling limit apply.
Zones Where Minor Dwellings Are Non-Complying
- Low Density Residential Zone
- Mixed Housing Suburban (MHS)
- Mixed Housing Urban (MHU)
- Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings (THAB)
In these zones you would likely look to build one or a number of normal dwellings.
Minor Dwelling Designs
Minor dwellings can built up to size of 70 square metres without resource consent. Maximise the livable areas in and around your minor dwelling with a great design. Decks and garages are excluded from the floor area calculation. All other internal space associated with the minor dwelling must be counted.
If a garage exists, it’s good to note that where a minor dwelling’s laundry is located within an associated garage, the laundry area is included within the floor area calculation of the minor dwelling – this area includes the space taken up by the appliances and the area directly in front used for standing (about 2 to 3m2).
- Use your plans or work with us on a custom design
- Maximise use of the 70m2 area to your needs
- Make the most of what you can do under the unitary plan
- Smart design and material choices to complement your primary dwelling
- Design for high standard results within your budget
Minor Dwelling Build Costs
The indicative build cost of a minor dwelling is $2800-4000 per square metre, plus GST. Rates given are for the base building cost, and generally exclude costs of local authority fees, external works and utilities, as these will vary in each situation. We work with you at the planning stage to get clear on the costs. Smart planning means we can guarantee to stay within your budget.
- Transparent costing to avoid surprise costs
- Review council and consent fees
- Evaluate costs of external work and utilities
- Get a guarantee to stay within budget
Two Bedroom Minor Dwellings
Minor dwellings can often be built with two bedrooms and not need resource consent. If the minor dwelling is smaller and contains fewer bedrooms than the principal dwelling it will likely avoid being viewed as a principal dwelling. A smart design can fit two bedrooms, kitchen, living/dining and bathroom into 60 square metres.
- Minor dwellings should contain fewer bedrooms than the principal dwelling
- Minor dwellings should be smaller than the principal dwelling
- Minor dwellings often contain 2 bedrooms but 3 would face more scrutiny
