Quick Guide to Resource Consent Fees in New Zealand
If you're planning to apply for a resource consent in New Zealand, it's important to know the fees involved.
In this guide, we'll provide links to the fee information for lodging a resource consent application at the different councils in New Zealand, to help you get a better understanding of the costs involved. We also include information on discounts, fee estimates, and objections to charges.
Introduction
Resource consents are required for certain activities that may have an impact on the environment, such as building a new house or changing the use of a property. You can learn more about the resource consent process in our explanatory guide.
Each council in New Zealand recovers costs for processing resource consent applications based on the specified hourly rate of the planners and specialists involved.
The deposit amounts charged by each council are often different and representative of the median cost of obtaining a consent at that council.
While this means that you could end up paying less and getting a refund, in most cases you will end up paying more.
Links to Resource Consent Fee Information for Different Councils in New Zealand
Below you will find links to the most relevant fees and charges pages for each local or regional authority in New Zealand. Some councils have created dedicated pages on their websites that include resource consent deposits and charge amounts, while others have general fees and charges PDFs that you will need to download to see the relevant costs. To provide the most up-to-date information, we have avoided linking directly to the PDFs, which may change from year to year. If any links do not work, please let us know in the comments box below.
“Tip: Ctrl-F to quickly find the name of the council you’re looking for.”
Unitary Councils
North Island
South Island
Territorial Councils
North Island
South Island
Regional Councils
North Island
South Island
Requesting an estimate of resource consent fees above any deposit
Under section 36 of the Resource Management Act (RMA), councils are allowed to charge fees for resource consents, but these fees must be fixed at a level that is adequate to enable the local authority to recover its actual and reasonable costs in respect of the matter concerned.
In cases where a fixed charge is inadequate to cover the actual costs of processing a resource consent, the council may require the person who is liable to pay the charge to also pay an additional charge (i.e., above the fixed deposit amount that has already been paid when you lodged the application).
However, the council is required to provide an estimate of any additional charge likely to be imposed upon request from the person liable to pay the charge.
This means that if you are applying for a resource consent and the fixed charge does not cover the actual costs of processing your application, you may be required to pay an additional charge to the council. However, if you request an estimate of any additional charge, the council is required to provide this information to you.
Below is some template text you could use to request this information from the council:
Hi [Name of Council Contact],
I am writing to request an estimate of any additional charge that may be imposed in relation to my application for a resource consent. Under Section 36 of the Resource Management Act (RMA), local authorities are allowed to charge fees for resource consents, but these fees must be fixed at a level that is adequate to enable the local authority to recover its actual and reasonable costs in respect of the matter concerned.
In cases where a fixed charge is inadequate to cover the actual costs of processing a resource consent, the local authority may require the person who is liable to pay the charge to also pay an additional charge to the local authority. However, I would appreciate an estimate of any additional charge likely to be imposed in my particular case.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Discounts on resource consent fees
The Resource Management (Discount on Administrative Charges) Regulations require councils to provide a discount for resource consent applications that are not processed within the statutory timeframes set out in the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The discount set out by the regulations is 1% per day, up to a maximum of 50 working days. This means that if your resource consent application is not processed within the statutory timeframes (usually 20 working days, but can be extended for some reasons), you are entitled to a discount of 1% per day, up to a maximum of 50 working days.
The regulations only apply to resource consent applications that are processed by councils, or to the parts of an application processed by a council (e.g., the council's processing of a resource consent before it is called in by the Minister for the Environment as a nationally significant proposal).
The discount is meant to provide an incentive for local authorities to process resource consent applications in a timely manner, and to reduce the burden of administrative charges on applicants.
If you believe that you are entitled to a discount on your resource consent application, you should contact your local council to discuss the matter further.
The discount should be automatic and not require a request from the applicant once a decision has been made.
Objecting to additional resource consent fees
If you have been asked to pay additional charges for a resource consent (i.e., above the fixed deposit amount that you paid when you lodged the application), you have the right to object under section 357B of the RMA.
A council is required to advise applicants of their ability to object to additional charges when sending out an invoice for processing a consent or for undertaking compliance monitoring. This information should be clearly explained, either printed on the invoice or included in an accompanying covering letter, and also included in any general advisory material provided to applicants about consent charges.
In your objection, you must include the reasons for the objection. If you are contesting specific time spent on an application, or generally consider the costs to be disproportionate to what you consider to be reasonable for a specific application type, make sure you explain this in a clear and succinct way.
The council should not require you to pay the additional resource consent fees until the objection has been resolved.
Remember that you only have an ability to object to the additional charges, and not any fixed initial deposit charge already paid.
If you are unhappy with the council's decision on a s357B objection, you have the ability to lodge an appeal with the Environment Court under s358.
All s357 decisions from the council should be given in writing, with reasons for the decision clearly outlined in terms of the criteria listed in s36AAA, and the applicant's appeal rights under s358 clearly noted in the decision.
If you have any questions or concerns about objecting to additional charges, you should contact the relevant council for more information.
Information on objecting to additional resource consent costs in Auckland can be found here.
Conclusion
Applying for a resource consent can be a complex and time-consuming process.
It's important to understand the costs involved, including the initial deposit and any additional charges that may be required.
This guide provides links to the most relevant fees and charges page for each local or regional authority in New Zealand, as well as information on discounts, fee estimates, and objections to charges.
If you have any questions or concerns about specific resource consent fees, we recommend contacting your local council for more information.
