About Free The Sheds
Who we are, what we stand for, and what we're doing about it.
A campaign for everyday Kiwis
Free The Sheds is a growing New Zealand industry movement calling for practical, risk-based reform of shed building consent rules. The campaign was started by Jason from Waikato Sheds and has since grown to include shed companies, builders, and suppliers from across the country, including Smith & Sons NZ, Feature Build, Cyclone Buildings, and Metal Craft. This is not a campaign for any one company. It is an industry-wide push for rules that make sense.
We support engineering standards, structural integrity, and safety requirements - those protections exist for good reason and we want them kept. We also support building consents for industrial buildings, habitable sheds, public buildings, and complex structures where the risk warrants formal oversight. What we oppose is the disproportionate process applied to low-risk, non-habitable sheds that adds cost and delay without making anyone safer.
Whether you're a farmer wanting a new implement shed, a homeowner building a garage, or a tradie who's watched clients spend thousands on consent for a basic structure - this campaign speaks for you.
Free The Sheds is not anti-council and not anti-regulation. We are not affiliated with any political party. We are focused on one thing: a consent process that is proportionate to the actual risk of what is being built.
What we're working towards
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Make qualifying low-risk sheds building-consent exempt if conditions are met
Make qualifying low-risk, single-storey, detached, non-habitable sheds building-consent exempt where clear safety, setback, district plan, stormwater, fire separation, site coverage, height, and Building Code conditions are met. Councils are stretched - their time and resources should go towards complex, high-risk building work, not processing paperwork for low-risk structures.
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Standard rules across the country
No more relying on whichever council happens to cover your land. Whether you're in Northland or Southland, the rules for building a shed should be the same. National consistency - not a patchwork of regional interpretations that change at every district boundary.
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We’re not stopping until this changes
New Zealand has always been a country of builders - people who put up what they needed, took pride in their work, and got on with it. The rules are now inconsistent and should be updated to better reflect actual risk. A low-risk, non-habitable shed does not present the same risk profile as complex or occupied building work. The case for reform is stronger than ever. We’re in this for the long haul.
What still needs building consent
Free The Sheds supports the current building consent process for industrial buildings, habitable sheds, public-use buildings, and complex structures where the risk, use, occupancy, plumbing, fire safety, or structural requirements justify formal council oversight.
We do not support removing building consent requirements for industrial buildings, habitable sheds, public buildings, hazardous-substance storage, buildings with significant plumbing or fire-safety requirements, or complex structures where formal oversight is appropriate. Those buildings carry higher risk and need proper engineering, fire safety, durability, access, services, and compliance checks.
Consent-free does not mean rule-free. Building Code requirements, district plan rules, setbacks, stormwater, fire separation, height limits, and professional design or engineering requirements may still apply to consent-free structures. This campaign is focused on low-risk, single-storey, detached, non-habitable sheds and engineer-certified rural structures - where the regulatory process should match the actual risk.
Keep the standards. Cut the red tape. Match the rules to the risk.
Email your MP
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What we are not asking for
This campaign is about matching rules to risk - not removing them.
- The Building Code
- Engineering requirements for rural structures
- District plan compliance
- Stormwater controls
- Setbacks
- Fire separation
- Site coverage rules
- Height controls
- Neighbour protections
- Health and safety standards
- Council oversight where it is still required
- Qualifying low-risk sheds to be building-consent exempt where clear conditions are met
- Engineer-certified rural structures without arbitrary floor-area and unsupported-span caps
- The 6m height limit and setback rules to remain in place for rural structures
- A consent process proportional to the complexity and actual risk of what is being built
Councils still have an important role. District planning, stormwater, site coverage, height controls, fire separation, neighbour effects, records, and enforcement remain council responsibilities. This campaign is about removing unnecessary building consent processing for qualifying low-risk structures - not removing council oversight where it is needed.
Keep the standards. Cut the red tape. Match the rules to the risk.
Ready to back common sense?
Share the campaign, read the rules, and help us make the case that New Zealand's shed consent system needs to change.
New Zealand Engineered · Built to Last · Standards Kept · Rules Matched to Risk