Council fees and charges for resource management applications for 2023/2024.

  • Fees and charges set under section 150 and in accordance with section 83 of the Local Government Act 2002, and section 36 of the Resource Management Act 1991.
  • Set under the Special Consultative Procedure.
  • Fees set under the 2023/2024 Annual Plan.
  • GST inclusive (15%).

All fees are deposits unless otherwise listed as a total fee.

Please note that the deposits do not always cover all of the costs of processing an application. Where processing costs exceed the specified deposit the additional costs will be invoiced separately.

The required fee/deposit must be paid before any processing of the application will commence (excluding on-account customers).

If an application falls into more than one fee category the higher fee applies.

More information about resource consent fees

Land use applications - non-notified

Resource consent applications Deposit or Fee
Additions, alterations and accessory buildings - all zones  $1,800.00
One or two new residential units (including Older Persons' Housing Units) – all zones $2,000.00
Three or more residential units (total on-site, including any existing units) – all zones $3,500.00
Short-term visitor accommodation (e.g. Airbnb, holiday home) $1,000.00
Signage $1,500.00
Earthworks and retaining walls $2,500.00
Telecommunications  $1,800.00
All other non-residential applications $4,000.00
Felling a protected tree that is diseased, unhealthy or hazardous No charge
Pruning a protected tree where necessary to remove a hazard or for tree health No charge
Other non-notified applications for works to protected trees (including trees on public land) $1,800.00

Other land use applications Deposit or Fee
Amendments within the scope of existing resource consent (immaterial changes which do not warrant a s.127 application) $300.00
s.87BA Permitted boundary activity $800.00
s.125 Extension of consent lapse period $1,800.00
s.127 Change or cancellation of consent condition(s) $1,800.00
s.139 Certificate of compliance $1,200.00
s.139A Existing use certificate $1,500.00
s.176A Outline plan $2,000.00
s.176A(2) Waiver of outline plan  $500.00
s.138 Surrender of resource consent (Total fee) $475.00
s.128 Review of conditions Actual cost
s.87BB Marginal or temporary non-compliance $1,000.00
Road/private way naming unrelated to a current subdivision consent (e.g. retirement village) Actual cost

Subdivision applications - non-notified

Subdivision consents - deposit Deposit or Fee
Fee simple subdivision consents, including boundary adjustments and change of tenure:
  • Up to 3 lots
  • More than 3 lots (deposit capped at $20,000)
$2,500.00

$750.00 per lot
Cross lease subdivision consents, including cross lease updates $1,500.00
Unit title subdivision consents $2,000.00
Combined applications (subdivisions involving non-compliance with land use rules) Subdivision deposit applies

Other subdivision applications Deposit or Fee
s.348 Right of Way approval $1,500.00
s.127 Change or cancellation of consent condition(s) $1,800.00
s.221 Variation/Cancellation of consent notice $1,500.00
  • Where this relates to a diseased, unhealthy or hazardous tree protected by a condition of subdivision consent
 No charge
s.125 Extension of consent lapse period $1,800.00
s.138 Surrender of Resource Consent (Total fee) $475.00
s.223 and/or s.224 re-certification after payment of final invoice $300.00
s.226 Certification $530.00
s.241 Cancellation of amalgamation $530.00
s.243 Surrender of easements $530.00
s.348 LGA certification $530.00
Road nameplate and post $647.00

Notified land use and subdivision consent applications

Application type Deposit
Limited notified application $10,000.00
Publicly notified application $15,000.00

Notices of Requirement

Type Deposit
Notice of requirement for a new designation under Section 168/168A $15,000.00
Notice of requirement for alteration of a designation (other than a notice under Section 181(3)) $10,000.00
Notice of requirement for alteration of a designation under Section 181(3) $1,500.00
Notice to withdraw requirement under Section 168(4) $1,000.00
Notice to remove a designation (in whole or in part) under Section 182 $1,000.00

Certification under the District Plan

Certificate type Deposit or Fee
Minimum floor level certificate (Total fee) $105.00
Wastewater capacity certificate (Total fee) $105.00
Rockfall AIFR certificate (deposit) $2,000.00
Quarry site rehabilitation plan certification and reviews (Rule 17.8.3.14) Actual cost
Tree removal certificate No charge
Other District Plan certificates, including Event Management Plan Certification - (deposit) $300.00

Bonds, covenants and encumbrances

Type Fee
Preparation, registration or cancellation of bond, covenant or other legal instrument Actual cost
Preparation and registration of encumbrance for family flat or older person’s housing (Total fee) $560.00
Discharge of encumbrance (Total fee) $600.00

Hourly rates and additional processing fees for applications

If the actual cost of processing exceeds the deposit paid, an invoice will be sent for the additional fees. Alternatively, the balance of the deposit will be refunded if it is not required. Interim invoices may be issued.

The time taken to process an application (including any pre-application time) and undertake associated post-consent work will be charged at the relevant scheduled hourly rate, plus the actual cost of any external specialists / consultants / commissioners, and disbursements.  Time will be charged at the hourly rate applicable at the time the work was carried out.

From July 2023, processing time and costs (including consultants) will be charged for the processing of applications
involving heritage related protections in the Christchurch District Plan.

The subdivision consent fees include consent processing, engineering design acceptance, construction audits and clearances, and certification. Additional fees are required to be paid before the section 224 certificate will be released. Bond and maintenance / defect liability clearance fees will be invoiced at the relevant time.

Current hourly rates

Type Fee
Administration $110.00
Planner, Planning Technician, Subdivisions Engineer and specialist input (junior and intermediate level) $195.00
Senior Planner, Senior Subdivisions Engineer, Team Leader, Manager, and specialist input (senior level) $210.00
External Specialists and Consultants Actual cost
Where a Commissioner is required to make a decision on an application Actual cost
Cost of Councillors/Community Board Members sitting on Hearings Panels Actual cost
Reports commissioned by the Council Actual cost
Disbursements (including advertising and service of documents) Actual cost
Consent management fee (fixed fee included in the total processing fees for every resource consent application) $85.00

Not-for-profit and social/community housing discount

A 25% discount on the total processing fees is available for not-for-profit community organisations and social/community housing providers, up to a maximum of $5,000 for housing providers and $2,500 for other organisations. Refer to our resource management fees page for more information. 

Monitoring activities

Resource consent monitoring

These fees are additional to the processing fees for every resource consent that requires monitoring of conditions. The monitoring programme administration fee and initial inspection fee will be charged at the time the consent is issued. Multiple inspection fees may apply where more than one monitoring inspection is required.

The Council will recover additional costs from the consent holder if more than one inspection, or additional monitoring activities (including those relating to non-compliance with consent conditions), are required. Any additional monitoring time will be charged when the monitoring has been carried out, at the specified hourly rate. 

Type Fee
Monitoring Program Administration fee (standard fee and applicable to variations and amendments) $107.00
Residential monitoring fee verification of documentation submitted to confirm compliance with conditions $64.00
Residential consent monitoring fee for the first monitoring inspection $123.00
Commercial consent monitoring fee for the first monitoring inspection $185.00
The Council will recover additional costs from the consent holder if more than one inspection, or additional monitoring activities (including those relating to non-compliance with consent conditions), are required. Additional charges will apply based on the hourly rate below. 
Hourly rate for additional monitoring (including travel, monitoring assessment, specialist input, and associated file management/administration) $167.00

Monitoring of permitted activity notices under a National Environmental Standard

Type Fee
Monitoring programme administration fee (also applicable to any amendments)  $107.00
Permitted activity monitoring inspection fee $185.00
The Council will recover the additional cost from the person or organisation carrying out the permitted activity if further inspections or additional monitoring activities are required (including those relating to non-compliance with permitted activity regulations).
Hourly rate for additional monitoring (including travel, monitoring assessment, specialist input, and associated file management/administration)  $167.00

Objections

For objections under section 357A(f) or (g), where a request is made for the objection to be considered by a hearings commissioner, the cost of considering and making a decision on the objection will be charged as follows:

  • Commissioner - Actual costs
  • Officer time - as per the hourly rates above.

Development contributions

Development contributions may be payable in addition to the consent processing charges. Please refer to the Development Contributions Policy, and Development contribution services fees for estimates and objections.

Pre-application advice

Actual costs will be charged, based on the hourly rate of staff involved.

Includes time spent on administration, research and assessment, meeting attendance (as applicable) and provision of advice. 

Partnership Approvals Service

The Partnership Approvals Service is available for projects where a case management approach will assist with the rebuild of the City. Examples are projects that are high profile, either in terms of the site or the proposed development, high dollar value, high complex, or customer with multiple projects. 

Type Fee
Case manager hourly charge out rate $210.00
Individual agreements for service may be available to customers By negotiation

Copy, scanning, and print services

Debt recovery

Where the Council has issued an invoice for the payment of any fee or charge and the amount invoiced has not been paid by the stated due date on the invoice, the Council may commence debt recovery action.

The Council reserves the right to charge interest, payable from the date the debt became due, and recover costs incurred in pursuing recovery of the debt on a solicitor/client basis as outlined in the Fees and Charges Schedule of the Annual Plan.