Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Local Government Act 2002

Regulatory, enforcement, and coercive powers of local authorities - Powers in relation to private land - Construction of works

181: Construction of works on private land

You could also call this:

“Local councils can build important things on private land with permission”

You can build things on or under someone else’s land or under their buildings if you’re a local authority. This is allowed for certain important reasons. These reasons include supplying water through pipes or water races, getting rid of trade waste, draining land, and clearing rivers.

If you’re a territorial authority, you can also build things on private land for sewage and stormwater drainage.

Before you can do any of this work, you need to get written permission from the landowner. If you don’t have their permission, you must follow the rules in Schedule 12.

After you’ve built something, you can go back onto the land to check it, change it, fix it, or clean it. But before you do this, you need to tell the owner and anyone living there that you’re going to come onto their land.

If building these things causes any damage to the land, you might need to pay compensation. The rules for this are in the Public Works Act 1981.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM173463.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councils
Housing and property > Land use
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Part 8 Regulatory, enforcement, and coercive powers of local authorities
Powers in relation to private land: Construction of works

181Construction of works on private land

  1. A local authority may construct works on or under private land or under a building on private land that it considers necessary for—

  2. the supply by territorial authorities of water by means of reticulated systems:
    1. the supply of water through water races:
      1. trade wastes disposal:
        1. land drainage and rivers clearance.

          1. A territorial authority may construct works on or under private land or under a building on private land that it considers necessary for sewage and stormwater drainage.

          2. A local authority or a territorial authority, as the case may be, must not exercise the power in subsection (1) or subsection (2) unless it has—

          3. the prior written consent of the owner of the land to the construction of the work; or
            1. complied with the requirements of Schedule 12.

              1. A local authority may enter the land to inspect, alter, renew, repair, or clean any work constructed under this section or under the corresponding provision of a former Act.

              2. The power in subsection (4) must not be exercised without first giving reasonable notice of the intention to enter the land to the owner and occupier (if any).

              3. This section applies subject to the Public Works Act 1981 as to compensation for injurious affection to land.

              Compare
              Notes
              • Section 181(1)(a): substituted, on , by section 18 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 63).