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Planning Bill

Foundations - Key instruments - Relationship between national rule and other instruments

41: Relationship between national rules and planning consents

You could also call this:

"How national rules and planning consents work together"

You will have a planning consent that is more restrictive than a national rule. This consent prevails over the rule if the rule says it is okay. You can have a more restrictive consent than the national rule. You can also have a planning consent that is more enabling than a national rule. This consent prevails over the rule if the rule says it is okay. You can have a more enabling consent than the national rule. If you applied for a planning consent before a national rule started, your consent might prevail over the rule. This happens if the national rule does not say otherwise. You get to keep your planning consent if it was approved before the national rule started and the rule does not change this.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1557650.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Environment and resources > Town planningHousing and property > Land use

40: Relationship between national rules and plan rules, or

"How local rules can override national rules in planning"

42: Relationship between national rules and designations, or

"How national rules and special area rules work together"

Part 2Foundations
Key instruments: Relationship between national rule and other instruments

41Relationship between national rules and planning consents

A planning consent that is more restrictive than a national rule prevails over the rule if the rule expressly allows a planning consent to be more restrictive than it.
A planning consent that is more enabling than a national rule prevails over the rule if the rule expressly allows the planning consent to be more enabling than it.
A planning consent prevails over a national rule if—
the consent application was the subject of a decision on whether to notify the consent before the date on which the national rule commenced; and
the national rule does not expressly provide otherwise.