Resource Consents Update – March 2026

This update covers two new pieces of national direction that came into effect on 15 January 2026 as part of the Government’s RMA reform, and new section 123C:

• Minor residential unit exemptions
• NPS-Natural Hazards
• s123C Duration of certain consents

Minor residential unit exemptions

Resource consent and building consent exemptions for ‘granny flats’ are now available where certain criteria are met:

• Resource consent exemption for detached minor residential units – National Environmental Standards for Detached Minor Residential Units (NES-DMRU).
• Building consent exemption for small stand-alone dwellings – New Schedule 1A of the Building Act 2004.

The two exemptions have similar criteria, but there are some important differences and additional requirements. These are set out on our website. 

As well as the general criteria (zone, building size, location, etc), the NES also requires compliance with a number of District Plan rules. These include natural hazards, earthworks, waterway setbacks, noise (from airport, port, roads, and railways), heritage, cultural values, landscape and coastal environments, wastewater capacity, and electricity-line setbacks. 

A PIM is required for the building consent exemption. This will also include a planning check to confirm whether the building meets the resource consent exemption criteria and, if not, whether it complies with the District Plan rules. If all the criteria are met, there's no need for a separate planning application. The PIM application form is available on our website.

Please note that development contributions are required for these units, as with any other additional residential unit, and they will also have an impact on rates. 

Natural hazard risk

The new National Policy Statement for Natural Hazards 2025 (NPS-NH) requires assessment and management of risk to persons and property from specified natural hazards, in a 'risk-based and proportionate manner', using the best available information (even if it's uncertain or incomplete). It applies to:

• All new subdivision, use, and development activities, except infrastructure and primary production activities (as defined in the National Planning Standards).
• Flooding, landslips, coastal erosion, coastal inundation, active faults, liquefaction, and tsunami hazards.

Risk must be assessed using a specified risk matrix which uses 'likelihood' and 'consequence' tables, taking into account existing or planned mitigation measures and climate change scenarios to at least 100 years into the future. The matrix and tables are located in Appendix 1 of the NPS. 

Very high natural hazard risk must be avoided. High or medium natural hazard risk is to be avoided or mitigated proportionate to the level of risk. Creation or increase of natural hazard risk on other sites is also to be avoided or mitigated in a proportionate way. 

Sections 106 and 106A

The NPS-NH sits alongside sections 106 (subdivision) and 106A (land use), which apply to all consent applications, except infrastructure and primary production. These sections require consideration of whether there's a significant risk from any natural hazards, and enable the Council to refuse consent or impose conditions to mitigate such risk.

What this means for consent applications

The NPS-NH risk matrix assessment must now be carried out wherever the matters of control or discretion extend to natural hazards, and for all fully discretionary and non-complying activities. This includes applications that were submitted before the commencement date.

Sections 106 (subdivision) and 106A (land use) apply regardless of activity status. 

This means that natural hazard risk should now be addressed in every resource consent application. It's important to be aware that hazard risk is not limited to properties within the current District Plan hazard overlays, as these do not always reflect the most up-to-date information. 

There are a number of information sources available relating to natural hazards, including:

• Flooding and floor levels, which includes our Flood and Floor Level Viewer. We encourage you to consult early on a project with the Floor Levels Team: floorlevels@ccc.govt.nz
• Christchurch coastal hazards online portal
• Christchurch City liquefaction information viewer
• Tsunami evacuation zones

In some cases, site-specific assessment may be required to enable the natural hazard risk to be understood – for example, specialist geotechnical assessments for hill sites. 

Further resources are being developed, and we'll share these, and any guidance on assessment of specific hazards, once available. 

More information on the NPS-NH is available on the Ministry for the Environment's website.

s123C Extension of expiry dates for temporary consents

New s123C affects consents with a specific expiry date (i.e. temporary consents granted for a limited duration).  

For consents that were current when the new section commenced on 17 December 2025 and have an expiry date before 31 December 2027, it automatically extends their expiry date to 31 December 2027. 

The new provision is intended to fill a gap for consents due to expire before replacement legislation for the RMA comes into effect. 

Councils are required to update consents with their new expiry date within six months (i.e. by 17 June). We’ll do this via letter to consent holders soon, but, in the meantime, if you have any questions about your temporary consent, please get in touch. 

Please note: New s123C doesn’t affect lapse dates under s125.