Commercial buildings
If you own a commercial building, you're responsible for ensuring that it is safe to use. If the building contains any specified systems, they must be kept in good working order and Council must be provided with a Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) annually.
You can find more about owners responsibilities here.
Compliance Schedules
When applying for a building consent for a new commercial building or additions/alterations to an existing commercial building, you'll be required to submit the appropriate forms for all specified systems present in the building.
A Compliance Schedule and Compliance Schedule Statement will be issued with Code Compliance Certificate (CCC), the statement must be displayed on the premise in a public location for 12 months from the date it is issued at which point it must be replaced with a Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF).
Specified Systems
A specified system is a system or feature that:
- Is contained in, or attached to, a building; and
- Contributes to the proper functioning of the building (e.g. an automatic sprinkler system); and
- Is declared by the governor-general, by order in council, to be a specified system for the purposes of this act; and
- Includes a cable car
These systems ensure a building is safe and healthy for members of the public to enter, occupy or work in.
Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF)
A Building Warrant of Fitness is a statement issued annually, confirming that all specified systems present in a commercial building have been maintained and checked in accordance with the Compliance Schedule over the 12 months prior and that all systems are operating sufficiently.
This statement must be displayed in the building and a copy provided to Council before the expiry date.The building owner is responsible for retaining all inspection and testing records for two years, all records must be available for inspection on premises.
You can find more information on Compliance Schedules and BWOF's on the Build Waikato website.
