Service
House Relocations
Moving a home — onto your section, or within it. Foundations, services, consent.
What's involved
A relocation isn't just lifting a building onto a truck. The Building Consent covers the new foundation system, the way the building is tied down, all services connections (water, wastewater, stormwater, power, comms), site drainage, and any alteration work being done at the same time.
Talk to a designer first
Not all relocatables are equal. Some need minimal work beyond connecting services and tidying the join. Others need substantial rework — cladding, layout, structural strengthening, weathertight upgrades — before they're a home you'd want to live in. Some are too large to move in one piece, which means cutting and rejoining, which is its own scope.
A relocation also isn't always the cheapest path. Once rework is extensive enough, a new build designed for the section can be the better outcome — and it's worth knowing that early rather than walking through six months of design before the cost picture lands. A short feasibility study at the front end ($500 + GST) often clears that question up.
Not always from somewhere else
Relocations aren't always about bringing a house in from another section. Sometimes it's moving an existing house *within* the same section — common on older quarter-acre properties to open up the front of the section for additional dwellings or a second unit at the back. The consent and structural work is the same; the lift is shorter.
Foundations
The foundation system is almost always a pile foundation. A structural engineer is only engaged where ground conditions don't meet NZS 3604's "good ground" requirements — and even then, the geotech report is often enough on its own. The geotech may specify a depth to good ground; piles are designed down to that depth and the engineer doesn't need to enter the consent at all. Engineers are the exception, not the rule. The relationship on a typical relocation is primarily between Stoak and the geotech.
What the relocator's price usually covers
Relocator pricing typically covers the house, the move and the piling — but usually *excludes* consent for the piling, connection to services on the receiving site, and anything beyond getting the house sitting on piles. That's where the rest of the project lives, and where Stoak's scope sits.
How the fee runs
Similar shape to a re-clad. Concept (to establish site fit and scope) → cost estimate → working drawings as a percentage of that estimate. There's no developed-design stage by default; that only enters the picture when the relocation includes substantial extensions or renovations that need multiple revisions to land. Live numbers in the sidebar.
How a relocation project runs
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Site meeting + receiving site assessment
Site walk-through of the receiving section. Service connection points, drainage, drive access, planning rules confirmed. Whether the section actually takes the house resolved early.
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Proposal
Written proposal with scope, stage fees and indicative programme. Engagement signed and concept fee invoiced.
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Concept
Site fit confirmed. Foundation strategy. Any alteration or extension scope established. Two rounds of revision included.
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Client approval of concept
Final concept signed off in writing.
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Build cost estimate
Build cost obtained — covers piling, services connections, alterations, and the relocator's costs. That estimate sets the working-drawings fee.
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Geotech coordination
Geotech engaged to confirm ground conditions and depth to good ground. Pile foundation designed to that depth. Engineer involved only where ground falls outside NZS 3604.
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Working drawings
Full consent set: foundation design, tie-down detail, all services connections, drainage strategy, any alteration scope. Resource Consent runs in parallel where the receiving site triggers it. Consent lodged and RFIs handled.
Frequently asked
- Do I need a Resource Consent to relocate a house?
- Not always — the act of relocating doesn't trigger Resource Consent on its own. RC is triggered when the receiving site has constraints (special character zone, hazard overlay, height-to-boundary, lake margin) or where the District Plan doesn't permit a dwelling on that section as of right. The District Plan is checked as part of concept; the answer is site-specific.
- Who designs the foundations?
- Stoak, in most cases. The foundation system on a relocation is almost always pile to NZS 3604 good-ground — that sits within what a designer self-certifies. A structural engineer is only engaged where the geotech report shows ground conditions don't meet NZS 3604, or where the receiving site is unusual enough that the structural pathway moves outside the standard. Often the geotech specifies a depth to good ground and Stoak designs piles to that depth without an engineer entering the consent.
- What does the relocator's price usually cover?
- Typically the house itself, the move, and the piling — but not the consent for the piling, the services connections on the receiving site, or anything beyond getting the house sitting on piles. The rest is what Stoak's scope and the geotech / consent fees cover.
- How is the fee structured?
- Similar to a re-clad. A fixed concept fee, a build cost estimate, then working drawings at a percentage of that estimate — same percentage band as renovations. No developed-design stage by default; that only enters when the relocation carries substantial alteration scope.
- Are 3D renders or walkthroughs included?
- Renders are included. Walkthroughs are not part of this service.
Ready to talk?