Changing your consent
Find out how to change or cancel consent conditions, what happens to a consent when you sell your property, how to transfer consents, surrender a consent, and apply to renew a consent.
You can apply to change or cancel the conditions of your consent at any time.
Only the change to a condition can be considered, and not the whole consent. The application should not be for a different activity from that previously consented, have materially different adverse effects or seek to expand or extend the original activity.
For consents that were subject to public or limited notification and received submissions, the process requires us to consider the effects on submitters and may involve obtaining agreement from the submitters or may even require a hearing.
If you would like an extension of the consent lapse period, you need to contact us before the consent lapses to apply for an extension.
Application forms: Find the appropriate application form to apply for changes to your consent conditions.
Visit our Consent fees and charges page for further details on costs and charges.
Contact our Advisory team to discuss any potential changes to your conditions.
Renewing expired consents
If your consent is due to expire and you are applying for a new consent for the same activity, section 124 of the Resource Management Act allows you to continue exercising your consent until a new one is either granted or declined, and all appeals have been settled if:
- the new application is made six months before the expiry of the existing consent; or
- the new application is made between three and six months before the expiry of the existing consent. In this instance, it is at our discretion to allow the holder to continue to operate.
You can search for a consent or contact our Advisory team if you need to know when your consent commenced or if you think that your activity will not start within the next five years.
Consent condition reviews
Following the granting of consent, a subsequent review of consent conditions may be carried out under section 128 of the RMA.
Depending on the type of review, costs may be payable by the consent holder (see the consent fees and charges page). This will typically be for situations where a consent is reviewed to address unanticipated levels of adverse effects arising from the exercise of the consent.
Transferring and surrendering (cancelling) a consent
You can transfer your consent to another person or party if they will be operating the same activity at the same location. That transfer can involve the whole or part of the consent and may be temporary or permanent.
Note: Authorisation from the consent holder is required before it can be surrendered or transferred, and a transfer must also be authorised by the new consent holder.
Transferring consent to another site
You may transfer your consent to another site if both sites are in the same catchment, or to another person and where regional plans allow the transfer, or where we determine it is appropriate via a consenting process. That transfer can involve a full or partial transfer and be for a limited period or permanently.
Our advisory team can help you understand what’s required to transfer permits, as it can sometimes be complex. You can also consult a suitably qualified resource management consultant.
Because a permitted activity is not a resource consent, a transfer cannot happen.
Surrendering (cancelling) a consent
You can also arrange to surrender (cancel) your consent if you no longer plan to undertake the activity it authorises. This can be in full if the consent is no longer required, or as a partial surrender if part of the consent is no longer required, such as the area or the condition.
You must understand the full implications of surrendering a consent. Our staff can provide the relevant information and talk you through the process, or you can seek legal advice or go to a suitably qualified resource management consultant.
Please note that authorisation from the consent holder is required before it can be surrendered.
If you sell your property or share your resources
As the holder of the consent, you are the legal owner. When you sell your property the legal ownership of the consent will need to be transferred or cancelled (surrendered).
As part of the transfer, you will need to inform the new owner of the conditions of the consent and any associated ongoing monitoring and fees.
If there is any equipment installed, such as a flow meter, you will also need to provide them with the original certification documents and any other relevant documentation.
Note: If you do not transfer or cancel your consent, you are still liable for the monitoring charges, irrespective of whether you still own the property.
Make sure you contact us well before your consent expires. Doing it early means we can help ensure your application has everything it needs to be accepted for processing. Also it means you can get a ‘continuance’, which allows you to continue operating while your new consent application is being processed.