A resource consent exemption process is available for proposals that only infringe District Plan boundary rules and where written approval has been obtained from the neighbouring owners. This is referred to as a permitted boundary activity.

If the proposal complies with all other rules in the District Plan and all of the required information is submitted to the Council, the proposal is a permitted activity and a resource consent is not needed.

What is a boundary rule?

A boundary rule is a rule controlling the size or position of a building or structure in relation to the boundary of an adjoining property.

Boundary rules in the Christchurch District Plan include:

  • daylight recession planes
  • setbacks from the boundary of a neighbouring property (but not zone boundary setbacks)
  • rules controlling the length of a building relative to the boundary.

The boundary mustn't adjoin public land owned by the Council, Environment Canterbury or the Crown. Some examples of public land are roads, rail corridors, waterways, parks and reserves, libraries, public schools, police stations, and other government properties.

A permitted boundary activity can infringe more than one boundary rule.

How to apply

Permitted Boundary Activity application form (P-007) [PDF, 798 KB].

For a proposal to be eligible for the permitted boundary activity process, the following information must be provided:

  • a description of the proposed activity
  • a site plan, floor plan and elevations of the proposed building (drawn to scale)
  • any other information necessary for the Council to check that no other District Plan rules are breached
  • names and addresses of all owners of the application site and owners of properties with infringed boundaries
  • a Written Approval of Affected Persons form (P-003) and signed plans from all owners of properties with an infringed boundary.

 If your application is complete and the activity is permitted, we will confirm this in writing within 10 working days.

Please note that the Council cannot request further information for this type of application. Incomplete applications will be returned, and need to be resubmitted in full. Submitting a complete application will help reduce the time and cost of processing your application.

Other approvals

For this exemption process, written approval is required from the adjoining owners regardless of the size and location of the infringement. If your development infringes a boundary rule in a way that means the neighbour is not likely to be affected, you may wish to apply for resource consent instead.

The permitted boundary activity process is only an exemption from resource consent under the District Plan. Some proposals may still need a resource consent under a National Environmental Standard, for example, where the land has been contaminated by previous hazardous activities.

You are also likely to need building consent to confirm that the work complies with the Building Act 2004 and the building code.

More information about the permitted boundary activity process is available on the Ministry for the Environment website(external link), including a guidance document with examples of boundary rule infringements. You can also contact our Duty Planner.