Help with Compliance Issues
Compliance Issues under the RMA
Under the RMA all persons have a duty to comply with any rules that apply to their land or must seek appropriate permits to use rivers, streams, the coastal area, or create discharges to air.
There are potentially heavy fines for people who do not comply with the rules or continue to breach rules once advised by the Council. In rare cases, the Council can also prosecute people for breaches of the RMA.
What is the Process?
While receiving a formal notice from the Council can be unsettling, in our experience the Council takes a collaborative approach of trying to assist people to comply with their RMA obligations.
They are likely to provide information and seek that people who are not complying take steps to rectify the non-compliance or apply for the necessary approvals.
If you have received a letter from Council informing you that you are breaching rules of the Unitary Plan the below is the recommended process:
- Contact a planning expert, like Urban Planning Consultants, to provide you with advice.
- Inform the Council that you have received their letter and the steps that you intend to take to comply and the date you are working to.
- The options include removing activities or structures that do not comply or applying for retrospective resource consent. The latter is in effect “approval after the fact”.
- Agree the deadline with Council to either comply or apply for resource consent. Once a resource consent has been lodged, it is very unlikely that the Council will take further enforcement action until a decision is made on that application.
What are the Risks of Enforcement Action?
Where the Council is aware of non-compliance or ongoing compliance issues, they have two formal enforcement processes that they can undertake to escalate enforcement action.
Abatement Notices
Where the Council considers that the non-compliance is serious, or a person is not responding to requests to comply, they can issue an Abatement Notice.
An Abatement Notice is an important legal document and will set out:
- The activity or structures that are not complying with the RMA
- The actions required by the Council with respect to the non-compliance. This could be to cease operations or to amend structures to comply.
- The deadline by which compliance must be achieved.
It is important that an Abatement Notice is taken seriously. Failure to comply with the notice could result in infringement fees of $750 per day for every day that the offending continues. You are also liable to prosecution.
If you believe that the Abatement Notice has been issued to you in error, or otherwise needs to be modified, you can apply to stay the Abatement Notice or have it amended. If you wish to do this, you should contact a lawyer to assist with such an application.
Enforcement Orders
Enforcement Orders are similar to Abatement Notices but are an application by the Council to the Environment Court to make the order. In effect, it is the court ordering you to comply rather than the Council, and as such, these should be taken even more seriously than an Abatement Notice.
If you have been advised of an application for an Enforcement Order against you, it is imperative that you contact and engage legal representation.
Following a court hearing, if the court agrees, it will issue the Enforcement Order which like an Abatement Notice will set out the non-compliances and instruct the measures that need to be taken and by what deadline.
Conclusion
Not complying with RMA rules can come with significant penalties including prosecution and fines and receiving letters or advice of formal enforcement action against you by the Council can be unsettling.
However, in practice, the Council will seek to ensure compliance without resorting to escalated enforcement action. Such actions are kept for only the most serious offending, or where a person is simply not responding to requests to comply.
If you have received a letter or abatement notice, please get in contact with Urban Planning Consultants.
We can help you with discussions with the Council and advise on the best way to comply, whether that includes removing structures or applying for retrospective resource consents.
Compliance Issues: Frequently Asked Questions
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