This page is about a bill. That means that it's not the law yet, but some people want it to be the law. It could change quickly, and some of the information is just a draft.

Natural Environment Bill

Natural resource permits - Nature of permits, commencement, duration and review - Transfer and surrender

193: Land use permits attach to land

You could also call this:

"Land use permits are tied to the land, not the person who owns it"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

If you have a land use permit, it is attached to the land it relates to. You can enjoy the permit if you own or occupy the land, unless the permit says otherwise. The permit follows the land, not the person who got it. If a land use permit lets you do something that would normally be against the rules in section 19, then the permit does not automatically go with the land. You need to consider the specific rules for that permit. These rules can affect what you can do with the permit. You can transfer your interest in a permit to someone else, unless the permit says you cannot. When you transfer a permit, you must tell the permit authority in writing for it to take effect. This is an important step to make the transfer official.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1536953.

This page was last updated on 14 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Housing and property > Land useEnvironment and resources > Town planning

192: Minor corrections of natural resource permits, or

"Fixing small mistakes in natural resource permits"

194: Transferability of coastal permits, or

"Passing on a coastal permit to someone else"

Part 4Natural resource permits
Nature of permits, commencement, duration and review: Transfer and surrender

193Land use permits attach to land

A land use permit attaches to the land to which the permit relates and accordingly may be enjoyed by the owners and occupiers of the land for the time being, unless the permit expressly provides otherwise.
Subsection (1) does not apply to any land use permit to do something that would otherwise contravene section 19.
The holder of a land use permit described in subsection (2) may transfer the whole or any part of the holder’s interest in the permit to any other person unless the permit expressly provides otherwise.
The transfer of the holder’s interest in a permit described in subsection (2) has no effect until written notice of the transfer is given to the permit authority that granted the permit.