Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

 Plain Language Law homepage
Back to
406: Grounds of refusal of subdivision consent
or “A council can say no to splitting up land if it's not good or safe for people, or if important things like water and sewage aren't sorted out.”
You could also call this:

“Rules for when and how the council can put conditions on splitting up land”

If you want to divide your land and there’s no district plan, or if the plan doesn’t have rules about this, the local council can set conditions on your subdivision. These conditions are like the ones that used to be in the old Local Government Act 1974.

When the council looks at your application to divide land, they’ll treat it like you’re asking for permission to use the land in a certain way. They’ll think about the pieces of land you want to create when they decide on the conditions.

Even if the council usually can’t set many conditions on your subdivision, they can still add some if your subdivision is considered a ‘controlled activity’ under section 405.

These rules apply to all kinds of land division, including when you want to split up a building into different parts for people to own.

These rules will stop being used in your area when the new district plan starts working. This doesn’t include temporary plans made under section 373.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

Next up: 408: Existing approvals for unit plans, cross lease plans, and company lease plans

or “This law says some old plans for sharing buildings and land are still okay to use, even with new rules.”
Next

Part 15 Transitional provisions
Subdivision and development

407Subdivision consent conditions

  1. Where an application for a subdivision consent is made in respect of land for which there is no district plan, or where the district plan does not include relevant provisions of the kind contemplated by section 108(2)(a) or 220(1)(a), the territorial authority may impose, as a condition of the subdivision consent, any condition that could have been imposed under sections 283, 285, 286, 291, 321A, or 322, as the case may be, of the Local Government Act 1974 if those sections had not been repealed by this Act.

  2. For the purposes of subsection (1), every reference in sections 283, 285, 286, 291, 321A, and 322 of the Local Government Act 1974—

  3. to an application for the approval of a scheme plan, shall be deemed to be a reference to an application for a resource consent; and
    1. to an allotment on a scheme plan, shall be deemed to be a reference to the allotments in respect of which a subdivision consent is sought.

      1. Notwithstanding the limitation on the imposition of conditions in section 105(1), where an application is made for a subdivision consent and the subdivision is deemed to be a controlled activity under section 405, conditions may be imposed under sections 108 and 220.

      2. This section applies to applications for subdivision consent in respect of every kind of subdivision of land within the meaning of section 218(1), including (but not by way of limitation) any subdivision to be effected by the grant of a company lease or cross lease or by deposit of a unit title.

      3. This section shall cease to have effect in a district on the date that the proposed district plan for the district becomes operative, not being a proposed district plan constituted under section 373.

      Notes
      • Section 407(1): amended, on , by section 64 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1997 (1997 No 104).
      • Section 407(3): inserted, on , by section 193 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
      • Section 407(4): inserted, on , by section 193 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).
      • Section 407(5): inserted, on , by section 193 of the Resource Management Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 65).