It’s now even easier to add a cabin to your property
Nov 11, 2025
Have you been considering a portable on your property? Homeowners across New Zealand are looking for a flexible and affordable option to create extra space for family, a home office, or a studio. Now it’s even easier to add a cabin on your property thanks to the expanded building consent exemptions.
Below, we’ll lay out what’s changed, what you can build without consent and the key rules you still need to follow.
What you can build without consent (as of November 2025)
You can now build a structure without a building consent as long as it meets all of the following criteria:
- Up to 30 square metres – Your sleepout must be a single-storey detached building with a floor area of 30sqm or less. The structure can’t have a kitchen or bathroom and can’t include cooking or sanitary facilities. However, it can still be warm, comfortable and fully insulated – take a look at our RoomMate Cabins here.
- Must be used together with an existing home – Because the cabin or sleepout won’t have its own facilities, it must be used in connection with a property that does have them. This is what ensures the building stays classified as an accessory structure rather than a standalone dwelling.
- Specific height and floor limits – To remain exempt, the floor level must be no more than 1 metre above the ground and the total height must be no more than 3.5 metres above the floor. These limits help ensure safety and reduce risk in the event of strong winds or earthquakes.
- Required setbacks – For sleepouts or cabins 10–30sqm, you must position the building at least 1 metre from any residential building and 1 metre from the property boundary. If your sleepout is under 10sqm, no minimum setback is required.
- Must be built or supervised by the right professionals – For structures between 10–30sqm, the work must be carried out or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP), or built from a pre-approved kitset designed by a Chartered Professional Engineer.
These updated rules make it much easier and faster to add a sleepout to your property, especially if you choose a cabin designed to meet the exemption requirements.
If you have any questions on these changes, have a chat to our team of experts. Find your local RoomMate Cabin team here.