The new fees come into force on May 1.
For a building costing up to $5000, fees will rise from $490 to $610. At the top end of the scale, fees for buildings $500,001 and over will rise from $2560 to $3200 - and for every $1000 after that from $160 to $200.
Other building consent fees such as those for heating units would also rise, from $120 to $150.
Strategy group manager Richard Mabon said the council faced increased costs arising from new statutory requirements under the Building Act 2004.
New systems meant more paperwork, inspections and staff time. A national shortage of experienced staff had also driven up market rates.
‘‘All these things impact on costs,'' he said.
The council must be accredited if it was to remain a Building Control Authority.
The council believed it was vital to keep providing local building consent services to the community, Mr Mabon said.
As a result, the increased costs were being recovered from people who used building consent services rather than ratepayers.
‘‘We are keeping a close eye on costs and the level of building activity to ensure that we balance the books. We are hopeful that this fee increase will see us through the next 12 to 18 months,'' he said.
However, the council was dealing with ‘‘a fluid situation'' that it had to respond to quickly and Mr Mabon said future fee increases within that time could not be ruled out.
