Buying or selling a property with an OWMS
When buying, selling or modifying a property that has an on-site wastewater management system, there are several steps you should take to ensure the system remains adequate.
Before you buy
If you are buying a property with an existing on-site wastewater treatment system, it is important you understand the system and ask the right questions.
- What brand and model of system was installed?
- What type of land application system was installed, and where is it located on the property?
- What daily volume is it designed for (ie how many people can it serve)?
- Who installed it and when?
- Who services it and how often? When was the last service and do they have copies of the service reports?
- Does the system have a resource consent? What are the consent conditions? When does resource consent expire?
- If the system is not currently consented, does it require resource consent?
- Are there operation manuals and plans for the system? (If the vendor does not have these, contact us, as we may be able to provide a copy of the plans.)
Onsite wastewater management systems do not last forever, and some systems may require a reserve area which can be used for effluent disposal if required. If there is a reserve area for the land application area you will need to know its size and location as this may limit future development potential on the site.
Before you make extensions
If you want to expand or extend your dwelling, you may need to upgrade your onsite wastewater management system or apply for a resource consent.
Adding things like extra bedrooms and granny flats will increase the maximum amount of wastewater that could potentially be discharged, and this may result in a requirement to increase the size of the system or upgrade to a different system.
Check the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan rules to see if extending your dwelling will require you to apply for an onsite wastewater discharge consent.
Before you sell
When you sell your property, tell the real estate agent that you have an onsite wastewater management system and provide as many details as possible. If there are plans and drawings of the system, provide these to the new owner. If repairs or changes have been made, advise the new owner.
Onsite systems need to be serviced regularly. Tell the new owner how often this is required, when the last service was completed and give them contact details of the company which services it.
If you have resource consent for discharge of human effluent for a property you are selling, you should ensure that this is transferred to the new property owner as part of the sale process. You will need to fill in a consent transfer form (PDF, 145KB) and pay a $105 processing fee. More information on resource consent transfer is available on the consents section of our website.