Certificate of Compliance

A Certificate of Compliance is not mandatory under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), however if you want official confirmation that your proposed building work or activity is permitted under the SDP and any relevant NES (and therefore can be carried out without a resource consent), then you can apply for one.

A Certificate of Compliance can provide you with certainty before you begin your work. It is a legal document that is treated as if it were a resource consent. A Certificate of Compliance lapses in the same way as a resource consent, e.g., you have five years to ‘give effect’ to it, and if the SDP changes in that time and makes the activity no longer permitted, you can still rely on the Certificate of Compliance to undertake the work or activity.

We issue a Certificate of Compliance after a full assessment of your proposal against the rules of the SDP and any relevant NES. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide evidence that an activity will be permitted.

• A full description of the proposed activity - the level of detail depends on the nature of the proposal and the rules you need to comply with.
• A description of the site where the work will be carried out.
• A clear explanation of how the proposed activity meets all the provisions of the SDP and any relevant NES. You may choose to present this information as a table, listing each provision and how the proposed activity complies.
• All necessary plans, details and calculations to be checked against the SDP. For a new building, for example, detailed plans may be necessary.
• Record of title and registered interests for the application site(s).

Your application for a Certificate of Compliance can be lodged with us via our online portal; via email to sdc@southlanddc.govt.nz; or in hard copy at a Council office.

Our preferred method of lodgement is via the online portal, however application forms are available for submitting via email or in hard copy.

You will also need to pay the relevant application fee as per our current fees and charges

We will assess the information you provide to determine if the activity complies with all relevant rules in the SDP and any relevant NES.  If we need further information then we will contact you.

We will issue a Certificate of Compliance within 20 working days of the date:

• you submit your application, or
• on which we receive further information, if requested.