Fees and Charges for Resource Consent Applications
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Refer to Council’s Fees and Charges page for a comprehensive list of fees and charges for resource consents.
Resource consent processing and monitoring, Designations, Plan Changes and all other activity under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA s36) will attract charges. Charges can be for administration, processing the application and consent, or environmental monitoring.
Consent fees are based on the beneficiary pays principle; those who benefit from the consent and the use of natural and physical resources can expect to pay the full costs of that use. They are also sought to be fair (relate to the consent holders activities) and reasonable (recovering the reasonable costs incurred by council in respect of the activity).
Council’s fees and charges are reviewed annually as part of the Council’s Annual Plan process. Our consent charges compare well to other Councils of similar size.
An initial charge (deposit) is required for all applications. The amount varies according to the type of consent.
In all cases a final processing invoice will be generated after the consent decision is issued. If the consent costs more than the initial deposit you will be invoiced for the extra costs. If it costs less you will receive a refund. Additional charges can arise in the following situations:
- If it takes longer to process the consent than covered by the deposit (charges are based on staff time)
- If specialist reports are required and you agree to pay for this additional information/assessment (more on this below)
- If the consent needs to be publicly notified; a further payment is required before public notification takes place (more on this below)
- If a hearing is required (more on this below)
In some cases interim invoicing will also occur for consents that are larger and/or taking longer.
Invoices are expected to be paid by the 20th of the following month. A payment plan can be requested and negotiated if necessary. Any continued non-payment would result in follow up action.
Any query or dispute regarding the invoice needs to be communicated to the consents department in writing within 15 days of issuing the invoice. There is also the ability to appeal your invoice under s357 of the RMA.
Costs of public notification
If the application needs to be publicly notified, you will be advised in advance. The further charges associated with public notification must be paid before the notification takes place.
If a hearing is required, you will be invoiced for the costs associated with this when the decision is issued. The applicant is responsible for all costs associated with the hourly rate of the Hearing Panel or Commissioner(s), Council staff, and your own representation.
Costs for specialist reports
The Council may ask you to provide a specialist/expert report yourself, or might ask your permission to commission a report on your behalf, but at your expense. If so, the Council must give you an estimate of the cost and cannot commission this without your approval. You will be invoiced for all costs when the decision is issued or through pre-arranged interim invoicing.
Other fees related to Resource Consents
Development Contributions
If your project is for a subdivision development or a new residential building - this includes new builds or creating a second habitable residential space within an existing house (e.g. downstairs flat), or creating new retail or commercial space - then Development Contributions might apply.
Development contributions are a fee levied on the developer to help Council recover the costs of increased infrastructure that occurs as a result of increased growth and demand.
Development Contributions can be charged either with invoicing of the Building Consent, the Resource Consent, or the subdivision s224 stage, depending on which comes first.
Science and Environment fees
For resource consents that involve using a natural resource (e.g. water permits, discharge permits, some land use consents) Council levies an annual Environmental Monitoring and Science Charge on consent holders. This is to help recover from users some of the costs of its State of the Environment environmental monitoring and science program.
