Resource consent may not be needed when rebuilding

Existing use rights mean that many home owners required by the Council to get a resource consent to rebuild can actually avoid doing so if they comply with some key requirements.

Existing use rights mean that even if a house would need resource consent to be built under today's rules, it may well be possible to demolish and replace it without a resource consent – not necessarily with exactly the same house - provided some key requirements are met.

First, the house must have been lawfully established, meaning that either it complied with the rules that applied when it was built, or that the Council granted specific planning permission (e.g. resource consent) at that time. If it was subsequently changed in a way that made it unlawful under planning rules of the day, this requirement is not met.