Consent-free minor dwellings · North Shore and Greater Auckland

A second home on your section, with no council consent

Since January 2026 you can add a self-contained dwelling of up to 70m² to your Auckland property without a building or resource consent, when it qualifies. We design it to match your home, handle the council side, and build it to last.

Custom-built, not kitset · Council side included · Licensed Builder

Free site strategy meeting

Find out if your section qualifies

Tell us your suburb. Craig will come to your property, tell you honestly whether the consent-free rule works for your section, and walk you through what it would take. No obligation, no sales pitch.

  • An honest read on whether your section qualifies
  • What is possible within the consent-free rules
  • A clear sense of cost, timeframe and next steps

Licensed Builder · Craig visits your section personally

Book a free site strategy meeting

No obligation. Craig or one of the team will call you back to talk it through.

Layout ideas

What's possible in 70m²

Every section, and every family, is different. Here are four ways a consent-free minor dwelling can work, each one custom-designed and built to match your home. Your plan is drawn around your section and how you want to live.

2 Bedroom Granny Flat

A self-contained granny flat that earns its keep

A wide, efficient plan: two double bedrooms (a two-bed commands the top rent), a galley kitchen and open living, one bathroom, and its own private entrance. Every square metre earns.

Self-Contained Granny Flat

A single-level granny flat for elderly parents

A compact, near-square plan built for mobility: an accessible kitchen along one wall, step-free throughout, a level walk-in shower, a main bedroom plus a guest or carer room, and warm north-facing living. Independence, close to home.

1 Bedroom Granny Flat

A granny flat for adult kids, close but independent

A long, open plan built around an island kitchen: a big master with its own ensuite, an oversized living for having friends over, and a study nook for work or study. Their own front door.

Guest House & Studio

A one-bedroom guest house with a studio room

An L-shaped plan that wraps a sheltered corner deck, with a peninsula kitchen and open living, one double bedroom and a step-free bathroom in one wing, and a light-filled studio in the other that opens to the deck. A guest room, a work room, a make room, whatever you need.

Indicative layouts only. The 70m² consent-free path applies to detached, single-level dwellings on an eligible section; we confirm what yours allows at the free site strategy meeting.

Reviews

What homeowners say

5.0 from 24 Google reviews

Consent-free, done right

The rule makes it easier. We make it worth doing.

A lot of people will drop a kitset in to use the new rule. We do the opposite: a dwelling designed for your home, built to last, that lifts the whole property. Read the plain-English guide to the rule.

We check your section qualifies

Zone, overlays, boundaries, services. We confirm the consent-free rule actually works for your property, honestly, up front.

We design it to match your home

A custom design that suits your house and section and stays inside the exemption, so it lifts the property instead of looking like a box in the yard.

We handle the council side

The PIM before, the records and certificates after, the licensed trades, the sign-off. The exemption removes the consent, not the paperwork. We carry it.

We build it properly

One builder runs the whole job, every trade coordinated, to a Licensed Builder standard. The quality of a United House renovation, in a second dwelling.

FAQ

Consent-free minor dwellings: common questions

What does a consent-free minor dwelling cost?

It depends on the size, the design and how you fit it out, so we give you a real figure after we have seen your section, not a number off a web page that turns out wrong. What we will say plainly: United House builds custom, matched-to-your-home dwellings, not kitsets, so this sits above a turnkey cabin and is built to last and to add value. We will be upfront about the figure early.

How is this different from a kitset or transportable granny flat?

A kitset looks like a kitset in your backyard. Ours is designed to match your home and built on site to the same standard as our high-end renovations, so it belongs to the property and lifts its value. The consent-free rule gets you in the door; the quality is what makes it worth doing.

Can I rent out a minor dwelling for income?

Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons people build one. A quality, self-contained dwelling on the back of your section earns rental income and adds capital value, funded by the equity you already have. Because ours is built to last rather than dropped in as a kitset, it holds its value and stays rentable for the long term.

Can I put a parent or family member in it?

Absolutely. A minor dwelling gives a parent, or adult kids priced out of Auckland, their own front door and independence while staying close enough to help. Single-level, easy to live in, and designed to feel like a home rather than a granny flat.

Can I live in it myself later?

Many owners build now as a rental or guest house, then move into the minor dwelling later and free up the main house when the time comes. A well-built dwelling keeps every option open: guest house this year, rental next, family or your own home down the track. A kitset only ever does one thing.

Do you really handle the council and consent side?

Yes. Even consent-free, the council is notified before and after and licensed trades must do the work. We manage all of it as part of the build, the same single-point management we bring to a full renovation.

What if my section does not qualify?

Then we tell you, straight, at the free site strategy meeting, and where it makes sense we talk through the alternatives. No qualifying section, no pressure.

Where do you build?

United House works across North Shore and Greater Auckland, based in Milford, Auckland. The free site strategy meeting happens on your section.