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  • October 28, 2025 11:06 am
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Are you planning to build a home soon?
Our Rarotonga Development Guide is a useful resource to help you design a more environmentally and financially sustainable, and comfortable home or building and navigate the process for getting a building permit and utility connections. This guide can be used as a resource for the Pa Enua too but the process may be different. Download the guide here and print or save to your device or collect a booklet from the Ministry in Arorangi.

Find a Tradie
To help you organise your development, we keep informal registers of building practitioners and trades. Find a drafter or architect here. Find a builder here. Note that the register of builders is not exhaustive, they are only those who responded to our request for contact details. For all other trades, follow the links in this page.

Summarised Process

  1. Get a Permit or Consent from the National Environment Service. 
  2. If the building has plumbing, you will need a Sewage Construction Permit from Te Marae Ora (Public Health).
  3. Bring your building permit application to ICI reception, along with the other approvals.


During the development, each regulator will be monitoring the progress. For Building Control, a series of inspections will take place by the Building Inspector. Read about the inspections here.

How to prepare your application for Building Control

  1. Fill out a Building Permit Application Form
  2. Fill out a Supervisor Designation Form
  3. Attach your building plans and any other required documents. NB: Your plans must include the Planning Requirements of the Building Code. 
  4. Attach your survey plan (land map).
  5. Attach your Permit or Consent from the National Environment Service
  6. Attach your Sewage Construction Permit from Te Marae Ora.
  7. Deliver to the Ministry reception in Arorangi.


Other Permissions:

  1. If you are changing the use of a building, you need to apply for a Certificate of Suitability. Read more here.
  2. If you need to use public space during your build such as space within the road boundary, you need to apply for a Section 33 Permission. Read more here.

Building Control
Building in Rarotonga is regulated by the Building Control and Standards Act 1991, the Building Control and Standards Regulations 1991 and the Building Code 2019. 

A Building Bill is targeted to be sent to Parliament before the end of 2025. ICI is launching communications soon.