Transitional consenting changes to resource consents

Procedural principles

New section 18B of the Resource Management Act 1991 sets out procedural principles that apply to resource consent assessments and decisions, and include cost efficiency, timeliness, succinctness, use of plain language, and being pragmatic. Actions must be proportionate to the scale and significance of the matter.

We’ll be reviewing our current processes and documents over the coming weeks to make sure the way we work aligns with these principles.

Matters council must not consider

From 30 October 2026, Council must not consider the matters listed in section 104(1A) when assessing some land use resource consent applications.

For residential activities, council must not consider effects relating to:

the area of glazing (windows)
balconies
outdoor living space
internal layout
the size of a residential unit
landscaped area size, except where it affects permeability.

For all activities council must not consider:

effects on trade competition
effects on retail distribution
whether there is demand for a project
whether a project is financially viable
the type of residents who may live in a new development
views from private property.

These changes:

apply to district planning rules in the Proposed District Plan and Operative District Plan.
limit what council can consider when assessing affected resource consent applications.

This means that some of our District Plan rules, matters of discretion, and objectives and policies may no longer be relevant, or may only be relevant in a limited way, to resource consent assessments and decisions. The out of scope matters (under s104(1A)) only apply to land use activities so subdivisions are not affected.

We’re currently in the process of identifying all of the affected rules and other provisions in our District Plan We’re working with other councils, the New Zealand Planning Institute, and the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions & Transport to achieve consistency where possible on interpreting and applying the provisions.

Applying for a resource consent

You can still Apply for a resource consent under the district plan provisions. The rules depend on when you apply:

Applications submitted before 30 October 2026 will be assessed under the RMA rules that applied when they were submitted.
Applications submitted on or after 30 October 2026 will be assessed under the RMA rules that apply during the transition period.

If you are planning a development, check the current requirements before submitting your application.

You will need to check the transitional versions of the Proposed District Plan and Operative District Plan.

If you have already submitted an application

Applications already submitted to Council will continue to be assessed under the rules that applied when they were submitted. This means that existing applications will need to be withdrawn and resubmitted after that date to make use of the new provisions.

If you are considering changing or withdrawing your application, talk to your processing planner, our duty planning officers or seek independent planning advice before making a decision.

Existing resource consents

Existing resource consents remain valid. You must continue to comply with all consent conditions.

Some existing resource consents may include conditions relating to matters that would be out-of-scope if the consent were reapplied for after 30 October, e.g. landscaping. Consent holders may wish to amend conditions or approved plans in light of rules becoming out-of-scope, e.g. reducing the outdoor living space or area of glazing.

You’ll be able to apply under s127 to amend the approved plans or cancel conditions if you wish. We’ll keep this process simple, by creating an abbreviated template for these decisions.

If you are unsure how the changes affect your consent, speak to one of our duty planning officers.

Building consents

Some building consents and PIMs will have a s37 certificate requiring resource consent for only rules that become out of scope. If this affects your building consent and you think resource consent is no longer needed, please talk to our duty planning officers.

When we will publish the planning rules

Council is reviewing the affected rules in the Proposed District Plan and Operative District Plan.

The Planning Act allows for councils to remove the out of scope matters in the District Plan without needing to go through a formal plan change process. However, at this stage Council intend to annotate the Proposed District Plan to show the amended provisions and release these updates from 30 October. We will publish the annotated versions in stages. The most frequently used chapters of the Proposed District plan will be available when the transition period begins. More chapters will be updated as Council completes its review.

It’s important to be aware that even though some rules will be annotated as being out-of-scope under s104(1A), this only excludes them from resource consent effects assessments. The rules will remain in the District Plan, so non-compliance with them will require either a resource consent (where there are other breaches) or a s104AA permitted activity notice (where the only breaches relate to identified out-of-scope rules).

Permitted activity notice (s104AA) for out of scope matters

Where proposals only breach rules that are out of scope under the new s104(1A), the Council will be able to issue a s104AA notice stating that the activity is permitted and doesn’t need a resource consent. This notice has a five-year lapse period.

• For building consent applications we’ll include it in the PIM (project information memorandum).

• If resource consent applications are submitted for only these rules, we’ll issue a permitted activity notice instead.

We’ll also have a new request form available on our website.

Managing these changes

The transitional consenting provisions are new to everyone. As a result, it’s likely that some things will need to be refined after 30 October as more guidance is released, other councils share their approaches, and the new provisions are applied to real projects.

We’ll keep you informed about any changes, and we welcome any questions or feedback you have for us along the way.