You need to get a resource consent when either the activity you want to do on your land does not comply with the District Plan, or the District Plan or Regional Plan identifies an activity as requiring a resource consent. Talk to us to find out if you need a consent and how we can take the hassle out of it for you and increase your chances of a favourable outcome.

Every proposal is different and the type of project will affect the timeframe. The below timeframes are indicative and vary depending on the council involved:

• Non-notified land use consent - 6 to 8 weeks
• Notified or Limited Notified land use consent 4 - 5 months
• Non-notified subdivision consent from inception to title - 4 to 6 months
• Notified or Limited Notified subdivision consent from inception to title - 6 to 8 months
• Discharge permits, water permits and coastal permits - 2 to 6 months

Please Contact us for a time estimate for your development.

If the application is being publicly notified or you have been identified in a limited notified application, you can make a submission. Your submission can be in support, opposition or conditional support. (meaning you would agree to the proposal given certain changes to it.)

The staff at Absolute Land Ltd are fully qualified and experienced in assisting you and acting on your behalf in making applications or representing you in a Council hearing. Please Contact us to discuss your submission.

No. For many people, receiving a resource consent is part of a condition on purchasing a property. Also, people can obtain resource consent over land they do not own, for example a gravel extraction beside a river.

The staff at Absolute Land Ltd are always willing to discuss your options with you. Please Contact us.

How close you can build to your boundary will largely depend on the District Plan requirements in your area. These depend also on the height of a building and the side and front yard requirements. The distance will usually be from 1 metre from the boundary, up to around 15 metres and depends largely on the District Plan rules.

Please Contact us to find out the requirements in your area.

A Licensed Cadastral Surveyor is the only person qualified and given permission to identify where changes are being made to title dimensions and to any physical changes in ownership. The reasons you may need to engage a surveyor are:

• For most legal transactions concerning land
• Prepare a resource consent application, especially for subdivisions and subdivision related activities.
• Siting a house, garage or fence
• Developing or subdividing land
• Undertaking environmental studies
• Preparing maps
• Planning farm water supply or irrigation
• Interpreting district plans
• A dispute over land boundaries
• A topographical or contour survey is required
• Registering rights of way and other easements over land
• Registering leases of land
• Expert testimony concerning land measurement is required
• Bomma Surveys
• Preparation of resource consents
• Engineering design of services
• Setting out of services (e.g. storm water, water & foul sewer)
• Hydrographic surveys of rivers, lakes and the sea

We are always willing to discuss your individual project in more depth with you. Please Contact us to find out more.

There are two types of survey marks.

The first type are for marking a boundary or easement position and are usually a wooden peg or an aluminium boundary disk, but can also be a lead plug, an aluminium peg, an iron spike or other approved survey mark. A boundary or easement mark usually does not have the survey instrument positioned above it.

The second type of mark is a traverse or witness mark. These are the survey positions used to start a survey (confirm the angles and distances), they are also the locations a survey instrument will be set up over to take a measurement to a boundary mark. A traverse or witness mark is usually a metal mark, either an iron tube or iron spike, however it may also be an iron rod or a plaque (as is common on street corners especially in the centre of towns).

No, you are not allowed to remove a survey mark. Removing a mark is also an offence under Section 55 of the Cadastral Surveys Act 2002. If you accidently remove one, or expect to need to remove one, we can arrange to replace it for you. Contact us.

This is a hard situation to be in and an occasion when all involved should tread carefully as emotions will often run high.

The first question asked is "how old is the encroachment?"

If the encroachment dates to when the property was first surveyed and there is no evidence that the encroachment was ever noted, and if rates have been paid on whatever encroaches, then there can be a claim for adverse possession. What helps to claim adverse possession are:

A. Is the property limited as to parcels? If yes and the fence dates back to when the title was first created, there is a good case to claim the extra land.
B. Were the boundaries determined by a transfer document? If yes, the boundary was probably not surveyed and so there could be a good case to move the boundary.
C. Have you been paying rates on the land? for example a garage or a swimming pool that end up on a neighbouring property. You may also have a case for adverse possession.
D. If A. - C. do not apply then you may be allowed to keep some of the land, such as where a house encroaches.

In all cases I strongly suggest you Contact us before things go too far.

The only way to be sure if the fence is going in the right place is to find the old survey pegs (and be sure that you agree that they are reliable), alternatively engage a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor to do a redefinition survey of the relevant boundary being resurveyed.

The staff at Absolute Land Ltd can help you to identify your boundaries to make sure the fence is going in the right place. For details about contacting us, please click here.