Granny flats · Backyard studios · New Zealand
Two bedrooms, a kitchenette and a bathroom with shower, basin and toilet in 35.2 m² of floor area, or about 54.3 m² with a separate living room, shipped folded and expanded on your section. We choose the factory, require and check its documents, have every unit inspected and its materials tested for asbestos, and supply the documents your New Zealand designer needs.
Expandable unit
The Yard 37 travels folded, 2.2 m wide, two to a 40 ft container. On your section, its two side sections expand: 35.2 m² of floor area, two bedrooms, no panels to assemble.
See the Yard 37
Steel-framed expandable units, finished inside at the factory, that travel folded in a shipping container and expand on site: the Yard 37 (35.2 m² inside the walls, two bedrooms) and the Yard 57 (about 54.3 m² inside the walls, two bedrooms and a separate living room), both under the 70 m² limit of the granny flat exemption. For New Zealand, we are specifying a version with a thicker insulated roof and an insulated floor, with upgraded walls and glazing where the calculation under clause H1 requires them. Specification and price are confirmed in writing before you order.
Turnkey price on a standard metro Auckland section, GST included: the unit delivered and craned, invoiced by us; the GST and import charges you pay at the border; the design, foundations, expansion of the unit and every connection, by the designer, Licensed Building Practitioner and trades named in your quote; and the council and Watercare charges you pay to them directly. Metro Auckland means Auckland's urban area connected to Watercare's water and wastewater networks and reached by truck and crane from the mainland; islands such as Waiheke and Great Barrier, and rural areas, are priced in your quote. Development contributions vary by address: your written quote uses the amount for yours.
Two bedrooms, a living area with kitchenette and a bathroom with shower, basin and toilet in 35.2 m² of floor area, shipped folded and expanded on your section.
Two bedrooms, a separate living room with kitchenette and a full bathroom in about 54.3 m² inside the walls (56.7 m² overall), shipped folded and expanded on your section.
Seven steps, and at each one something you can check: drawings, photos, reports, tracking.
Galvanised steel frame, cut, welded or bolted and assembled at the factory to approved drawings, once your PIM is issued.
Insulated panels, windows, wiring, bathroom and kitchenette, all fitted at the factory.
Before shipping, an independent inspector checks every unit, with a written report and photos.
Units wrapped, braced and loaded under supervision, container sealed.
Shipping booked by our freight forwarder, with cargo insurance.
Customs and biosecurity clearance, then truck and crane onto the foundations: included in metro Auckland.
Fixing and connections by the LBP and licensed trades named in your quote, part of the turnkey price; documents to your council within 20 working days.
An imported building is only worth buying if every step is checked. That is our job.
For every order, we ask several factories to quote, compare them on specification, price and lead time, and negotiate with them directly.
Business licence checked on China's national registry, certificates checked with the bodies that issued them, asbestos results from an accredited laboratory.
An independent inspector checks each unit before it ships and samples materials for asbestos testing. The factory is paid its balance only after a pass.
The unit and its delivery, the GST and import charges, the site works by the designer, LBP and trades named in your quote, and the council and Watercare charges: who is paid what, what is included and what is not.
Two payments to us: a deposit when you order, once your PIM is issued and your consent pathway is confirmed in writing, and the balance when we send you the independent inspection report, before loading. For a project that relies on the granny flat exemption, we take no deposit until MBIE has answered in writing. The designer, LBP and trades are paid under their own contracts; council and Watercare charges are paid to them directly, and development contributions within 20 working days of completion. Our bank details appear only on our pro forma invoice.
From your first email to delivery, then after-sales care for the unit. You never deal with the factory, the forwarder or the trucking company. For the site works, your contacts are the designer and LBP named in your quote.
A granny flat that cannot clear the border, be connected or meet the exemption conditions is worth nothing, whatever its price. We ask for the proof before you pay a deposit, not after.
Materials, standards and approvalsFAQ
Turnkey from NZD 170,000 for a Yard 37 on a standard metro Auckland section, GST included. That total adds up four parts:
The Yard 57 is turnkey from NZD 230,000 on the same terms: the unit delivered, NZD 120,400; the GST and import charges, about NZD 18,500; the same council and Watercare charges, about NZD 32,200; and the site works, with more foundations and a larger crane, about NZD 58,900.
Development contributions depend on the address and are set by Auckland Council's Development Contributions Policy 2025: your written quote uses the amount the council confirms for yours. Your quote also confirms the electrical inspection before connection and, if your section needs one, a separate electricity connection.
A standard section is level and on good ground, outside natural hazard areas, with truck and crane access, the house services within 15 m and drainage by gravity. Metro Auckland means Auckland's urban area connected to Watercare's water and wastewater networks and reached by truck and crane from the mainland; islands such as Waiheke and Great Barrier, and rural areas, are priced in your quote.
Not if every condition of the granny flat exemption is met. Since 15 January 2026, a new, stand-alone, single-storey home of up to 70 m², measured inside the external walls, can be built without a building consent. At 35.2 m², the Yard 37 is well under that limit; at about 54.3 m², the Yard 57 is under it too.
Two questions are open with MBIE (asked on 23 October 2026): whether a home built overseas can use the exemption, and whether the bolted steel frame of our units counts as a lightweight steel frame. Until MBIE answers in writing, we take no deposit for a project that relies on the exemption. If you do not want to wait, your project can go through a building consent instead: your quote then shows the consent fees and the extra time.
The home must still comply fully with the Building Code, sit at least 2 m from boundaries and other homes, and be designed and built by authorised people. If any condition is not met, a building consent is needed. Our guide to the 2026 rules lists them all.
A project information memorandum: your council's information about your section, such as natural hazards, services and development contributions. Every exempt granny flat needs one, the council issues it within 10 working days of a complete application, and no building work may start before it is issued.
The designer named in our proposal adapts the drawings to your section and applies for your PIM with you; their fee and the council's PIM fee are part of the turnkey total, and you pay them directly. With your PIM, we send your written quote, and production starts only once your PIM is issued.
Allow for the PIM first, then, for a first order of a model, four to six months from order to delivery: three to six weeks of approvals, five to seven weeks of production, then shipping, customs and biosecurity clearance. Then the site works by the LBP and trades.
The New Zealand designer named in your quote: a Licensed Building Practitioner with a design licence, a registered architect or a chartered professional engineer (CPEng). They adapt the plans to your section, design the foundations and anchorage, and provide the certificate of work. Under the exemption, the council does not review the design or inspect the work, so their certification matters.
We supply the drawings, structural information and product documents they ask for. We do not design the site works and we do not certify the work.
From your first call to the delivery of your unit, and after: one quote that shows every part of the turnkey price and who is paid what; a designer, a Licensed Building Practitioner and licensed trades that we select and name in the quote, who contract with you directly for the site works; photos and reports on the build, the inspection, shipping and delivery; the drawings and documents for the site works; then after-sales care for the unit. The designer, LBP and trades carry out and guarantee the site works under their own contracts with you.
The Licensed Building Practitioner and licensed trades named in your quote, under their own contracts with you; their price is part of our turnkey price, and you pay them directly. The crane sets the unit on the foundations they build. The LBP carries out or supervises the restricted building work, including fixing the unit to its foundations; a registered plumber, a drainlayer and a licensed electrician make the connections.
The unit is wired at the factory to AS/NZS 3000. Because that work was done overseas, a New Zealand electrical inspector assesses the installation and issues a record of assessment before connection; the licensed electrician named in your quote then connects it and issues the certificate of compliance and the electrical safety certificate. As the importer, you also sign a supplier declaration of conformity for the installation: we prepare it with the test results and the declarations for each fitting, and we go through it with you before you sign. Your quote confirms the inspection and its cost.
Within 20 working days of completion, you send your council the records of work, the electrical certificates, the final plans and your designer's certificate. Missing that deadline is an infringement offence, with a fine of up to $1,000.
Not in its Australian specification: its 50 mm roof panel is below the R2.6 minimum that H1/AS1 sets for roofs, and its floor is not insulated, while a suspended floor needs at least R1.3. We are specifying a New Zealand version with a thicker insulated roof and an insulated floor, with upgraded walls and glazing where the H1 calculation for your climate zone requires them.
You see that specification in writing, with its price, before you order. Your designer confirms H1 compliance for your section.
Your designer or engineer designs the foundations and anchorage for your section, taking account of its wind zone, ground and earthquake zone. They follow the MBIE granny flat foundations guidance or a specific engineering design, with New Zealand loadings for wind (AS/NZS 1170.2) and earthquakes (NZS 1170.5). The Australian wind classes of AS 4055 are not the New Zealand basis.
We supply the unit's weight, support points and frame details they need.
You import the unit, so you pay them when it clears the border: GST of 15% on its value plus freight and insurance, and Customs and MPI levies of $118.44 plus GST per import entry. Duty is 0% for goods of Chinese origin with a proof of origin under the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement (5% otherwise).
Your quote estimates these costs, so you know the full amount before you order.
Importing any product that contains asbestos into New Zealand is prohibited unless the EPA grants a permit, and there is no minimum threshold. Our materials are tested by an accredited laboratory, and you receive the reports.
At the border, MPI checks the container: it is unpacked at an approved transitional facility and inspected for soil, insects and seeds, and wood packaging must carry the ISPM 15 mark.
You have guarantees under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 that cannot be excluded when you buy as a consumer. If a failure can be fixed, we must fix it within a reasonable time. If it is substantial or cannot be fixed, you can reject the unit or ask for a price reduction. You can also claim for any reasonably foreseeable loss.
The Building Act also implies warranties into residential building work, and defects notified within 12 months of completion must be remedied. For the site works, your contacts are the LBP and trades named in your quote. Lodgeyard's written warranty, backed by the manufacturer's, adds to these rights; how to claim is in our terms.
Lodgeyard is a brand of REXOR GROUP LLC, a company registered in New Mexico, USA. We are not the manufacturer: the units are made in China by partner factories that we select, check and compare for every order.
Your project
Tell us about your section. We reply by email with a first look, then a written quote that lists what is included, what is not, and the costs paid at the border.
Or email us: contact@lodgeyard.com
