Water Restriction Level 2
Find out about the penalties you might face if you start building work without an approved resource consent.
If your project needs a resource consent and you start work without one, or you don’t comply with your resource consent, you’re committing an illegal offence.
The penalties range from a $300 fine to criminal prosecution.
Penalties include:
- infringement notices – these are issued for relatively minor offences such as not complying with a resource consent condition
- abatement notices – these are issued when we need consent holders to stop work or take action so that they comply with the Resource Management Act 1991 or a resource consent condition
- enforcement orders – these are applications from us to the Environmental Court. They require consent holders to either cease or do something so that they comply with the Resource Management Act or a resource consent condition
- prosecutions – these are legal proceedings for the most serious offences under the Resource Management Act. Serious Offenders can face criminal charges.
Get a pre-application meeting
You can book a pre-application meeting with us to talk about your proposal before you submit a resource consent application.
These meetings can save you time and money in the long run.
Resource consent applications can be very complex. Depending on the project, they might need a lot of technical detail too. We recommend that you use a planning consultancy, surveyor or architect to apply for resource consent for you. We can help you find the right people.