Council’s New Short-Term Visitor Accommodation Rules – 2023 Update

Explained – The New Short-Term Visitor Accommodation (Airbnb) Rules in Queenstown Lakes District

Information Current As of  May 2023

 

On 30 January 2023, New Zealand’s Environment Court issued a decision that has directed the Queenstown Lakes District Council to change the District Plan rules regarding short-term accommodation. This Court decision is relevant to anyone who intends to undertake short-term accommodation from their property in the District.

This page will provide a simple explanation of these new rules for the three main District Plan zones in Queenstown Lakes District (including Wānaka and Hāwea), plus the Jacks Point Zone (which includes Hanley’s Farm & Willowpond), Northlake Zone, and Shotover Country Zone.

However short-term accommodation is a very site-specific matter, which makes it very difficult to provide generic advice. There are many, many other zones in the District Plan that will not be covered here. There are also ‘visitor accommodation sub-zones’ located within the zones we do cover here. Finally there are properties that already have resource consent that you may not be aware of, or specific restrictions that prevent short-term accommodation despite the rules (restrictions on the title for example). 

Therefore we offer a free service below to advise you what the specific rules for your property are, and what you need to do to stay compliant with the new District Plan rules for short-term accommodation.

Warning: This Environment Court decision is the end of a process that started in 2017. Now the rules are settled, we are also now expecting the Queenstown Lakes District Council to commence a wide-reaching enforcement operation on illegal Airbnb’s. Council is under significant pressure from the Community to take action on the rental housing crisis. Please ensure you are 100% compliant with the District Plan rules to avoid enforcement action. If you have been contacted by Council’s Monitoring and Enforcement Team, please contact us for specific advice.

 

 

DO I NOW NEED A RESOURCE CONSENT TO USE MY PROPERTY FOR SHORT-TERM ACCOMMODATION?

The answer can be rather complex and will depend on a number of factors. To make it super simple, answer the following 6 questions below. You will be notified via email as to what short term accommodation you can undertake without a resource consent, or if you do require a resource consent. This information is 100% free and without any obligation or commitment required – it’s simply the best way to give you fast, accurate information given the complexities involved.

 

Low & Medium Density Residential Zones

New Rules as Per The Environment Court’s Decision –

• Up to 90 nights per year of short-term rental (where the whole property is rented) – a formal resource consent may no longer be required* if all the relevant standards can be met, with Council approval obtained by a streamlined (and lower cost) registration process. QLDC will increase the property rates by approx 25% once the registration application is approved.

• There are a number of standards to be met to be eligible to unlock the 90 nights/yr. These include maximum guest numbers (depending on the size of the property); max one group at a time; no heavy vehicles; no guest use of outdoor living areas during night-time hours + related signage installed on the property; and rubbish/recycling bins to be only left out on the street on collection day. The registration application/process also requires the details of the appointed local property manager to be supplied to Council, and neighbours served formal notice of the activity.

• For 90 nights/yr or less (approved via the streamlined registration application), there is also an on-going annual requirement to file records of all letting for the previous year to the Council, and neighbours re-served written notice of the activity.

• More than 90 nights/yr of short-term accommodation legally requires a resource consent to be granted by Council. These applications often require the written approval of neighbours. There’s no longer a ‘hard line in the sand’ of a maximum 180 nights/yr of short-term accommodation (as was the case with the old rules) – it’s now all up to us to prepare a comprehensive application and for Council assessment of what they consider appropriate.

• Through the resource consent process, Council will consider a number of matters including: the location, nature and scale of the activity; vehicle access / parking; rubbish / recycling management; outdoor activities and outdoor lighting; privacy for neighbours; guest management and complaints procedures; record-keeping and monitoring requirements.

• *Is your property in a unit title complex? If so – you need to firstly check that none of the other units in the complex are undertaking short-term accommodation. The ’90 nights/yr without consent’ applies to the entire unit title complex – and not each individual unit. So if another unit is being used for short-term accommodation, the 90-night allocation is ‘extinguished’ and a resource consent is required to use your unit for short-term accommodation, even for less than 90 nights/yr.

High Density Residential Zone

New Rules as Per The Environment Court’s Decision –

• Up to 90 nights per year of short-term rental (where the whole property is rented) – a formal resource consent may no longer be required* if all the relevant standards can be met, with Council approval obtained by a streamlined (and lower cost) registration process. QLDC will increase the property rates by approx 25% once the registration application is approved.

• There are a number of standards to be met to be eligible to unlock the 90 nights/yr including maximum guest numbers (depending on the size of the property); and no heavy vehicles. The registration application/process also requires the details of the appointed local property manager to be supplied to Council, and neighbours served formal notice of the activity.

• For 90 nights/yr or less (approved via the streamlined registration application), there is also an on-going annual requirement to file records of all letting for the previous year to the Council, and neighbours re-served written notice of the activity.

• More than 90 nights/yr of short-term accommodation legally requires a resource consent to be granted by Council. Compared to the Low/Medium Density Residential Zones, it’s easier to gain resource consent for more than 180 nights/yr of short-term accommodation (often up to 365 nights/yr).

• Through the resource consent process, Council will consider a number of matters including: the location, nature and scale of the activity; vehicle access / parking; rubbish / recycling management; outdoor activities and outdoor lighting; privacy for neighbours; guest management and complaints procedures; record-keeping and monitoring requirements.

• *Is your property in a unit title complex? If so – you need to firstly check that none of the other units in the complex are undertaking short-term accommodation. The ’90 nights/yr without consent’ applies to the entire unit title complex – and not each individual unit. So if another unit is being used for short-term accommodation, the 90-night allocation is ‘extinguished’ and a resource consent is required to use your unit for short-term accommodation, even for less than 90 nights/yr.

Jacks Point Zone (Including Hanley’s Farm and Willowpond)

New Rules as Per The Environment Court’s Decision –

• Up to 42 nights per year of short-term rental (where the whole property is rented) – a formal resource consent may no longer be required if all the relevant standards can be met, with Council approval obtained by a streamlined (and lower cost) registration process. QLDC will increase the property rates by approx 25% once the registration application is approved.

• There are a number of standards to be met to be eligible to unlock the 42 nights/yr including maximum guest numbers (depending on the size of the property); max one group at a time; no heavy vehicles; no guest use of outdoor living areas during night-time hours + related signage installed on the property; and rubbish/recycling bins to be only left out on the street on collection day. The registration application/process also requires the details of the appointed local property manager to be supplied to Council, and neighbours served formal notice of the activity.

• For 42 nights/yr or less (approved via the streamlined registration application), there is also an on-going annual requirement to file records of all letting for the previous year to the Council, and neighbours re-served written notice of the activity.

• More than 42 nights/yr of short-term accommodation legally requires a resource consent to be granted by Council. These applications often require the written approval of neighbours. 

• Through the resource consent process, Council will consider a number of matters including: the location, nature and scale of the activity; vehicle access / parking; rubbish / recycling management; outdoor activities and outdoor lighting; privacy for neighbours; guest management and complaints procedures; record-keeping and monitoring requirements.

Northlake Zone

• No resource consent required for up to 90 nights per calendar year provided the house is either a free-standing or duplex dwelling (i.e. apartments/town houses not eligible and require resource consent).

• To unlock the 90 nights/yr, the property needs to be firstly registered as a holiday home with Council. QLDC will increase the property rates by approx 25% once the registration application is approved.

• Records of all letting must be kept; minimum one on-site car park available for guests.

• Resource Consent legally required for more than 90 nights/yr. Difficult consent to obtain (except in one central area of Northlake). Written approval of the neighbours likely to be required.

Shotover Country Zone

• No resource consent required for up to 90 nights per calendar year provided the house is either a free-standing or duplex dwelling (i.e. apartments/town houses not eligible and require resource consent).

• To unlock the 90 nights/yr, the property needs to be firstly registered as a holiday home with Council. QLDC will increase the property rates by approx 25% once the registration application is approved.

• Records of all letting must be kept; minimum one on-site car park available for guests.

• Resource Consent legally required for more than 90 nights/yr. This is generally a difficult consent to obtain in Shotover Country. Written approval of the neighbours very likely required. 

Other Zones

There are many, many other zones in the Queenstown-Lakes District – and each has their own set of rules / requirements around short term accommodation. If your property is not in one of the zones listed above, please complete the 6 questions further up in this page under “Is Short-Term Accommodation Allowed at Your Property?”. We’ll get back to you with specific information/advice relevant to your property – 100% free and absolutely no-obligation. We’re just here to help.

Homestay

A homestay is a form of short-term accommodation where you live on the property full-time, and rent out a spare room / sleepout / flat etc on the same property for short-term accommodation. Think of it like a traditional bed and breakfast (with the ‘breakfast’ part being optional!). 

A homestay activity generally does not require a resource consent from Council, provided the maximum number of paying guests on the property at any one time does not exceed five (5).

There is no limit on the number of nights per year that a homestay activity can operate from a property (i.e. no such thing as max 90 nights/yr, max 180 nights/yr etc). A homestay can operate year-round.

It’s important that you are living on the property full-time in order to be eligible to be classified as a homestay. If no one is living on the property full-time, it cannot be classified as a homestay.

Before commencing a homestay activity, the property needs to be registered as a homestay with Council. Once approved, Council will increase your property rates by approximately 25%. 

There is also not to be any heavy vehicle movements (by vehicles capable of carrying more than 12 people), and up-to-date records of the activity need to be kept and supplied to Council upon request. These records need to include the number of guests staying per night.

If you would like to run a homestay activity with more than 5 guests, a resource consent is required from Council.

Do I Need Professional Holiday Home Management?

You will require someone who is locally-based (full-time) to manage the property and quickly respond to any complaints. This could be yourself if you live locally, or an appointed local Property Manager. As part of the resource consent application (or registration application if less than 90 nights/yr is sought), we need to supply details on how the property will be carefully managed when used for short term accommodation, so as to not affect neighbours or the wider neighbourhood.

The majority of clients we work with choose to have their holiday home managed by a professional property management agency, and we incorporate this into the application. A property manager will assist you in meeting the requirements of your resource consent, in addition to promoting your property.

Want More Information?

• Check out this guide produced by the Council – Click Here. Note this Council guide is of limited benefit as it  only covers the Low/Medium/High Density Residential Zones – and not the many other zones we have in the District! However it does provide good information about the increases in QLDC rates a visitor accommodation activity generates.

• Finally get in touch and fire through an enquiry. We will take a look at your specific property and provide free advice on the new rules, registration process (for less than 90 nights/yr or homestays) process to apply for resource consent + associated costs, and any immediately obvious issues – for free and without any obligation.