Transfer of consents

Any reference to a ‘consent holder’ includes the successor of that person. ⁹⁷⁸ Therefore a successor to a consent holder will automatically succeed to the consent and there will be no need for a formal transfer.

Land use and subdivision consents are attached to the land and transfer automatically to the new owner when land is sold. ⁹⁷⁹  Other consents (e.g. water permits and discharge consents) are not automatically transferred when land is sold.

Coastal permits can be transferred to another person but not to another site, unless the consent or a rule in the regional coastal plan expressly provides otherwise. ⁹⁸⁰

Water permits for damming or diverting water can only be transferred to other parties if they are the owner or occupier of the site to which the permit relates. Other water permits can also be transferred to another person or another site in the same catchment, aquifer or geothermal field where this is expressly allowed in the regional plan or has been approved by the consent authority. An application for approval from the consent authority is considered as if it were an application for a resource consent and the consent holder were the applicant. ⁹⁸¹

Discharge permits may be transferred to another person who is the owner or occupier of the site for which the permit was granted or a local authority. They may also be transferred to another person or another site if a regional plan allows the transfer or allows the holder to apply to the consent authority to be allowed to make the transfer. A regional plan may only allow for transfer of discharge permits if:

• The transfer does not worsen the actual or potential effect of any discharges on the environment
• The transfer does not result in any discharges that contravene a national environmental standard
• If the discharge is to water, both sites are in the same catchment
• If the discharge is to air and a national environmental standard applies to a discharge to air, both sites are in the same air-shed as defined in the standard
• If the discharge is to air and the above does not apply, both sites are in the same region

An application for approval from the consent authority is considered as if it were an application for a resource consent and the consent holder were the applicant. ⁹⁸⁷

A transfer has effect when written notice of the transfer is given to the consent authority in accordance with Form 11. Many local authorities have prepared their own forms for notice of transfer of consents. These are usually available from local authority websites.

Last updated at 3:15PM on December 11, 2014