Cottages Built to Belong.
Custom cottages built for your section and for your life—minus the consent complexity. Fixed prices, real builders.
A Custom Cottage works harder than most things you could do with your section. Here's how people are using them.
Keep family close.
On everyone's terms.
A self-contained space for a parent, an adult kid saving for a house, or someone who needs to be nearby—without being underfoot.
A secondary dwelling that pays for itself.
A well-built granny flat in New Zealand can earn up to $500 or more per week in long-term rent—and adds real value to your property.
Your own rental.
On your section.
Design-led minor dwellings perform well on short-stay platforms. Keep it for family when you need it, earn when you don't.
Real numbers. No surprises.
Most granny flat builders don't publish pricing. We do. Here's what to expect.
THE KOWHAI (30m²)
from $189 K
Compact, not squeezed. Open-plan kitchen & living, proper bathroom and a sleeping zone that feels like its own room.
Open-plan kitchen/living/bed • 1 Bath • Customisable to match your existing house
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THE TAWA (40m²)
from $239 K
Works harder than it looks. Proper bedroom with robe, full bathroom & laundry, open-plan kitchen/living with sliding doors to the deck.
Open-plan kitchen/living • 1 bed • 1 bath • Deck • Customisable to match your existing house
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THE KAURI (70m²)
from $259 K
Two bedrooms and a kitchen and living that don't compromise. Maximising the 70m² consent threshold, no added complexity.
Full kitchen & living • 2 beds • 1 bath • Deck • Customisable to match your existing house
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FULLY CUSTOM
Ask Us
Need something completely custom, just for you? We’re here to help from concept to consent, all the way to completion.
Ask us what’s possible.
GET IN TOUCH →
Fixed prices. Your finishes.
The price is the price—no estimates that shift once you're committed. What you do get to make your own: external cladding, colour, joinery, and finish details are all customisable across every cottage.
Ask us about options, and you’ll get honest prices from our first chat.
The only variables: site-specific groundwork (slope, soil, services connection) and council fees and choice of finishes.
Granny flat consent in NZ isn't as complicated as it used to be.
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All Custom Cottages are designed at 70m² or under. That's not an accident — it's the threshold that unlocks simplified consent under NZ building rules.
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No full building consent required. You submit plans to your local council, they review, and you're cleared to build. Less back-and-forth. Less waiting.
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We design to meet the rules from day one — so you're not discovering problems halfway through the process. We'll also walk you through what applies to your specific section and zone before you commit to anything.
Council requirements vary by zone. We'll check yours as part of our first conversation—no obligation.
How it works
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Start with a complimentary call.
We’ll talk through your property, what you’re looking to create, and which of our designs (or going completely custom) could work for you.
No hard sell, just good advice and a clear idea of your options.
TALK TO US → -
We’ll follow up with a complimentary feasibility assessment, confirm availability and run through the details. Happy with the plan?
Pay your deposit and we’ll get everything locked in. -
Once your deposit is paid, we’ll kick things off.
We’ll guide you through the next steps, keep things clear and make sure you know what’s happening when. From here, you’re in good hands.
ENQUIRE NOW →
Keen to chat options for your cottage?
Good questions. Straight answers.
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Can you design the cottage to match my existing house?
Yes—this is one of the main reasons people choose us over an off-the-shelf option. We design every cottage around your section and your brief, which includes thinking about how it sits alongside your existing home in terms of materials, cladding, roofline, and proportion.
You don't get a catalogue. You get a conversation about what you're working with, what you want it to look like, and what will actually work on your section—then we draw it up. The result is a cottage that looks like it was always supposed to be there.
What you can customise: exterior cladding and colour, roofline, window placement, interior layout (within the floor plan), kitchen and bathroom spec, flooring, and deck orientation.
What stays fixed: the overall footprint is designed to stay at or under 70m² to keep you within the simplified consent pathway. We'll always flag if a change you want would affect that.
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Real numbers: a 30m² one-bedroom Custom Cottage starts from $189,000 incl. GST. A full 70m² build is from $259,000 incl. GST. Those are fixed-price starting points—not estimates that quietly grow once you're committed.
Every price includes foundations and structure, cladding and roofing, full kitchen and bathroom fit-out, plumbing, electrical, insulation, interior linings, painting, flooring, and a deck. What can vary is site-specific groundwork, finish upgrades you choose, and council fees.
As granny flat builders in New Zealand, we work across the North and South Island. We'll give you a clear number for your specific section before you sign anything.
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This is the question everyone asks—and the answer is better than most people expect. Under updated NZ building rules, a secondary dwelling of 70m² or under does not require full building consent—just a council plan submission. That means less paperwork, faster turnaround, and a simpler path to getting built.
All Custom Cottages are designed at or under 70m² specifically to work within this framework. We've already thought through the compliance piece so you don't have to.
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In most residential zones, minor dwellings and secondary dwellings under 70m² can be built as a permitted activity—meaning no resource consent is required, provided you meet standard rules around setbacks, site coverage, and height. Each council sets these rules out, and they vary by zone.
We check your specific zone and site as part of our first conversation. If there's a constraint, we'll tell you upfront—not halfway through the process.
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Most residential sections of 500m² or more can accommodate a 40–70m² cottage, but it depends on your zone's coverage rules and how your existing house and outbuildings sit on the section. The quickest way to find out: give us a call. We'll take a look at your address and give you a straight answer, usually within the same conversation.
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Everything you need to move someone in. Foundations, framing, cladding, roofing, full kitchen fit-out, bathroom, plumbing, electrical, insulation, interior linings, painting, flooring, and a deck. The only things that can add cost are site-specific groundwork (if your section has unusual slope or soil conditions), finish upgrades you choose, and council fees.
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Yes—once consented and built, your cottage can be used as a long-term rental or short-stay accommodation. A well-built one-bedroom rental can earn up to $500 or more per week in long-term rent. Short-stay performance depends on location and fit-out, but design-led cottages do well on platforms like Airbnb. Some zones have rules around short-stay use, which we'll flag if relevant to your section.
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From design sign-off to move-in, most builds can be completed within 4–5 months. Council submission, material lead times, and site prep all play a part. We'll give you a realistic timeline at the start—not an optimistic one that slips.
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Ryan and Aaron. Two qualified builders and their tight-knit team—years of residential construction experience in Christchurch and the South Island. They're the ones who answer the phone, show up on site, and build your cottage—not a team of subcontractors you've never met. If you've got a question at any point in the process, you're talking to the people actually doing the work.
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Most Custom Cottage clients use equity in their existing home to finance the build. Many banks will lend against the improved value of your property post-build, which often means the numbers stack up better than expected.
Our partners can help you navigate your finances successfully to help you get your dream cottage. Just ask us.
Built by real, honest builders Ryan Pratt and Aaron Gearry.
We started Custom Cottages because we kept hearing the same thing: "We want a cottage on our section but don't know where to start, who to trust, or what it'll cost."
With over 45 years of combined professional experience we built a business to answer all three. Two builders. Fixed prices. Residential standard. No franchise, no runaround.
When you contact us, you get us.
And, we answer the phone.