Navigate Council Regulations

1. Find the Zone of your Business Location

Before you commit to anything such as signing a lease or purchasing a property for your business we recommend you access information about your business site by undertaking a property information search to understand what district plan rules apply to the property.

All you need to start this process is your business address. Click here to find out what district plan zone your property falls into and what activity is permitted under the district plan rules.

If you need assistance with this step, please book some time with one of our duty planners to assist you with finding your property zone and the rules that apply for your property.

2. Understand Resource and Building Consents Process

We want local businesses to save time and money by doing due diligence and solid project planning to ensure their aspirations come to life.

Once you have done some research and know if you require a resource consent, building consent or both we recommend making sure you take advantage of our internal services to get good advice from our team.

We also recommend getting the experts on board early. Please see the links below for accredited professional services to assist you on your journey.

Professional Planning Consultants      Surveyors

3. Resource Consents

The resource consents pre-application service is particularly useful in ensuring that you are able to have an upfront view of what will be required for your resource consent application.

Identifying up front what supporting documentation you need to gather prior to starting your application will help avoid possible delays. Most importantly it will assist you in managing your project budget, avoiding unexpected budget shortfalls.

Find out more about Waikato District Council pre-application service here.

4. Building Consent

You will need to apply for a building consent if your project involves any of the following:

Construction and demolition, alteration of buildings, conversion of buildings, site works, swimming pools, fences, signs, plumbing, drainage solid fuel heaters, solar heaters.

For detailed information about the building consents process click here.

5. Understand Development Contributions

A Development Contribution (DC) is a levy on new developments. They are collected to ensure the costs of extra demand on council infrastructure from the development are not imposed on the community.

For detailed information to help you understand more about development contributions you may have to pay click here.

A new Development Contributions Estimator will be available soon to help our customers understand the potential cost of their proposed development including any variations to their development proposal. Watch this space!

6. Check Water Requirements

Any business which discharges wastewater into our Council’s wastewater system may need to apply and have approved trade waste consent from Council.

Please click here to understand what the rules are before you start your project.

7. Check Requirements if Selling Food or Alcohol

If you plan to sell food or alcohol you will need a license.

Often new business owners underestimate the time and money required to get the correct licensing.

Please take the time to understand and prepare for all of the requirements as we want you to be open for business as soon as possible.

See detailed information about food and alcohol licensing here.