Sleepouts you can build without a consent.

A detached, single-storey building of up to 10m² can be built without a building consent under Schedule 1 (exemption 3) of the Building Act, if it meets the conditions: floor no more than 1m above the ground, no more than 3.5m high above the floor, no plumbing, sanitary fixtures or cooking facilities, and used as a sleepout only where there is a house on the site. Every design here is drawn inside those limits. The building still has to comply with the Building Code, and your district plan rules (setbacks, site coverage) still apply - check with your council.

Your sub 10m2 cabin can go right to your property boundary in most cases.

No - sanitary fixtures, stored drinking water or cooking facilities take it outside the 10m² exemption. A self-contained unit needs a different route (a building consent, or the granny-flat exemption with licensed builders).

Yes. The 10m² exemption doesn't require a licensed builder. The plans are drawn to be built by a capable DIYer or handed to a builder: full framing, bracing, details, fixings and a cutting list for every wall.

All of our cabins are designed for NZS 3604 wind zones up to Very High. None are for Extra High wind zones, lee zones or sites that need specific engineering design. Your council or a BRANZ Maps lookup will tell you your site's wind zone - you'll be asked to confirm it before buying.

Decks, steps and landings (they depend on your site), electrical (a licensed electrician, with a Certificate of Compliance), joinery manufacture (any standard aluminium window and door supplier), and anything site-specific like engineering for poor ground.

Cladding colour, deck, fit-out and joinery supplier are yours to choose. Changes to the size, the openings or the structure mean the plans (and the bracing calculations) no longer cover what you build.

It's a digital download - as soon as payment goes through you're emailed a single zip file with the plan set PDF, the cutting list, the bracing calculations and the guides.