With the staged reopening of New Zealand’s borders currently in place, international tourism will inevitably return. For Airbnb owners, this could result in greater demand in their properties than the recent years may have shown.
However, over the last few years local councils around New Zealand have been adopting new rules into their District Plans that require certain owners of short term accommodation (STA) such as AirBnB or Bookabach to obtain a resource consent to operate.
Recently, the Christchurch City Council announced changes to their District Plan which require STA operators to apply for a resource consent provided specified criteria is met. This criteria includes, whether the property is hosted or unhosted, located in certain zones, the number of nights the property is let out annually and the number of guests that stay on the property.
These new rules follow suit with the Auckland Council and the Queenstown Lakes District Council, who have incorporated STA restrictions into their District Plan for some time now. In the Central Lakes District, the zones which require resource consent requirements for STA operations have been ever growing in recent years to include new areas, capturing a greater amount of properties.
Unlike the recent rules announced by the Christchurch City Council, the Queenstown Lakes District Council require a resource consent to operate STA regardless of the number of nights the property is let out annually (provided the property is located in the specified zones).
Time will tell whether other local councils around New Zealand incorporate similar rules affecting your AirBnB or Bookabach.
If you are currently operating or are considering operating an AirBnB or alternative short term accommodation and have any queries, please contact Gibson Sheat and we will be more than happy to have a discussion with you.
Alternatively, Malcolm Galloway or Jordan Highsted can assist with any queries you may have.