Reforming the RMA: heritage designations
The Government has initiated a comprehensive reform to the Resource Management Act (RMA), with plans to replace it entirely with new legislation aimed at balancing property rights and environmental outcomes.
The RMA is a foundational piece of legislation for the heritage listing of properties and places on national and local registers. Currently, it allows district and regional councils, along with Heritage NZ, to designate private properties as heritage without homeowners’ consent. Across the country, councils are increasingly assigning heritage status to homes and buildings against the wishes of property owners.
Heritage listing imposes substantial costs and restrictions on homeowners. While specifics vary by council, typically, the owner of a heritage-designated property must obtain consent to:
- make any changes to the exterior of the home;
- change a window frame;
- take a chimney down to remove risks from earthquakes;
- add a solar panel to help mitigate climate change; and
- make any other meaningful modifications that are visible from the street.
Obtaining such a consent from a council is costly and is by no means guaranteed.
The financial costs to homeowners of having their home heritage designated can be devastating, including:
- a 10-30% decrease in property value;
- increased insurance premiums (25% or more), higher excesses and no coverage for the additional heritage-related repair costs;
- the expensive and time-consuming process of obtaining council approval to modify their property; and
- ongoing maintenance costs and associated challenges for property owners.
Given these significant costs and burdens on private property owners, there is a compelling argument that private properties should only be heritage-listed with the express consent of the property owner. To that extent, we have written to Minister Chris Bishop, on behalf of the Voluntary Heritage Group (VHG), recommending the inclusion of the following provision:
“A property may only be added to a Council’s District Plan as heritage-designated with the express written consent of the property owner.”
The full letter to Minister Chris Bishop from the VHG can be found here.
