The QLDC is currently consulting on their review of standardised fees for Planning and Development Services. This includes fees for Resource Consent processing, Building Consent Processing, and Resource Management Engineering. These fees were last reviewed in 2009 and affect anyone and everyone dealing with the Council – whether property developers or just ‘Mum & Dads’ wanting to build an additional bedroom.
These fees will also directly affect our clients that we work with on a daily basis – and therefore it is important that the proposed changes are fully understood.
A full schedule showing existing vs proposed fees can be found here (pdf 200kb)
What’s Proposed (in Summary)?
It is proposed to increase the fees and hourly charge out rates by an average of between 5% and 25%. The below summary is relevant to the day-to-day matters in which we deal with the Council’s Planning & Development arm.
Resource Consent Processing: These are the fees charged by the Council Planners to undertake their duties, particularly the processing of resource consent applications. Fees will increase from $134.90 to $145.00 per hour (inclusive of GST) and a ‘Senior Planner’ rate is introduced at $165.00 per hour.
Resource Management Engineering: The Resource Management Engineers provide technical input to the Planners when processing and monitoring resource consents. Fees are proposed to be increased from $137.54 to $165.00 per hour.
Resource Consent Monitoring and Compliance: Monitoring and Compliance Officers are tasked with monitoring the conditions of granted resource consents, and enforcing non-compliance with the District Plan (i.e. those un-consented earthworks being undertaken on you neighbours property!). Most resource consents are monitored and non-compliance in any way can potentially result in a large bill for the Council Monitoring Officer’s time. Fees are proposed to increase from $134.90 to $145.00 per hour.
Administrative Support Fees: Fees for the lovely people who acknowledge and send out our client’s approved resource consent decisions and complete all internal admin work are proposed to increase from t $74.75 to $90.00. An additional fixed administration fee (currently $180) will increase to $225.
Pre-Application Meeting Fees: We use Pre-Application meetings with the Council for more complex applications prior to formally preparing and lodging an application for resource consent. They are a great way to give both parties an opportunity to assess the likely issues, uncover unforeseen matters, and move forward with a degree of mutual understanding. Fees for the first hour of one Council staff member’s time will remain free of charge, with additional hours billed at the standard hourly rates. Complex application proposals needing the input of multiple staff (engineers, environmental health etc) will attract an initial fee of $1,500.00.
How Resource Consent Charging Works
Upon lodging an application, the applicant is required to pay to Council an initial deposit. Currently this ranges from $512.50 to $1025 for the majority of straightforward applications. During processing of the application time is charged against this initial deposit and upon completion of processing either a refund is due (extremely rarely) or further invoices are issued.
Council is proposing a general increase in these initial deposit fees – further details can be found on the Council’s website. In our opinion the increase in these deposit fees will not result in additional cost for obtaining resource consents. Currently the final cost of the vast majority of applications exceed the deposit, requiring additional invoices to be issued. The proposed initial deposit fees are more representative of the current cost of the Council processing an application.
Our Analysis – Resource Consent Processing Proposed Fees
The current fees were last reviewed in 2009 and so the current review is not unexpected. The proposed fees have been compared to the main centres (Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch) where there is a similar cost of living.
Per hour cost of a Council Planner’s time (inclusive of GST):
Auckland: $153
Wellington: $155
Christchurch: $150 – $200
The proposed QLDC fee increase ($145 – $165) will bring the fees in-line with other Councils around the country and therefore we do not consider them in itself to be unreasonable. However raising processing fees will further add toward the cost of subdividing land, building, starting a business and much, much more.
Have Your Say!
Council is calling for submissions on the proposed fee increases. You can lodge a submission online by 5pm on Tuesday 31 May 2016. Further information and the submission form can be found on the Council’s website.
Top Tips to Reduce Council Consenting Fees
- A well-written and complete resource consent application is the #1 way to reduce your Council fees. Unforeseen issues, poorly drafted application and assessment of effects reports, and general inexperience with dealing with the Council in this manner all results in greater Council time spent on the application, and therefore greater cost to you as the applicant. Consider contacting us to discuss your proposal without any obligation. You will be surprised how engaging a consultant can prevent unnecessary cost and headaches throughout the consenting process.
- Engage the Council in pre-application meetings for more complex applications. While there is an up-front charge associated with pre-application meetings longer than 1 hour, we have usually experienced this service to be well-worth it and does actually reduce the total cost of the consent.
- Ensure you have a good idea of your proposal down to the detail. Once a resource consent is issued there is usually a significant cost to make any changes.
- Finally ensure you keep on top with your conditions of consent set out in your resource consent decision. Non-compliance in any way will result in Council Monitoring/Enforcement Officers spending time to address the situation. You will end up paying for this time.