Deemed Permitted Boundary Activity

If your proposed activity is listed as permitted under the Horowhenua District Plan but you breach one or more ‘boundary rules’, eg boundary setbacks or height in relation to boundary, and comply with all other rules, your activity will be treated as a deemed permitted boundary activity if the following are met or provided:

  • the boundary you breach is not a public boundary, ie it's not a road boundary or a boundary with a public park or reserve
  • you obtain written approval from the owner(s) of the neighbouring properties where the infringement(s) occurs, including plans signed by the affected owner
  • you provide all required information which includes a description of the activity and plans drawn to scale
  • you pay the deposit associated with this type of application - a full list of fees and charges can be viewed on our Planning Fees & Charges page.

What's a permitted activity?

The rules and standards in the Horowhenua District Plan determine how your proposed activity is classified and how it will be assessed. Under the District Plan, activities are categorised as:

  • Permitted (no resource consent is required providing conditions are met)
  • Controlled
  • Restricted Discretionary
  • Discretionary
  • Non-Complying (most restrictive).

What's a boundary?

A boundary is the legal perimeter of a site.

A road boundary is the legal boundary between the site and the road. This is usually the front boundary.

What's a deemed permitted boundary activity?

A deemed permitted boundary activity is a process that applies in the place of the resource consent process in certain circumstances. It's a faster, cheaper and simpler process than going through resource consent.

An example of a deemed permitted boundary activity

You want to carry out extensions to your house and the Horowhenua District Plan states that your house must be 1.5 metres from the boundary with your neighbour’s property. However, the extensions you want to carry out will mean your house would be located 1 metre from the boundary.

You talk to your neighbour about this and they're happy to sign the documentation. Once you submit all of the documentation needed, including formal sign-off from your neighbour, Council will issue approval for the extensions to be treated as permitted even though they breach a rule in the District Plan.

Obtaining written approval

If you think neighbours or other parties will be affected by your proposal, it's advisable to obtain written approval from them prior to lodging the application.

  • Written approval from all affected people can save time and costs in processing your application.
  • Written approval needs to be on the Written Approval Form, available below:

Affected Person's Written Approval Form(PDF, 203KB)
Neighbours Approval Form - Accessory buildings less than 1m from a boundary(PDF, 784KB)

Apply for a Deemed Permitted Boundary Activity

If you breach a public boundary or can't get written approval

If you breach a public boundary or you're not able to obtain written approval from the affected neighbour, you'll need to apply for a resource consent instead.

Decisions on deemed permitted boundary activities

A decision on a deemed permitted boundary activity must be issued within 10 working days of Horowhenua District Council receiving all of the necessary information. If any information is missing, your application will be returned to you and the 10 working day timeframe will start again once you re-apply with the required information.

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