What does Section 124 of Resource Management Act mean?
Section 124 of the Resource Management Act (s124) gives a consent holder the ability to continuing exercising their (current) resource consent when their consent is due to expire, and they have lodged an application for a new consent for the same activity within a certain timeframe. The consent holder is allowed to continue with the activity until the consent is granted or declined and all appeals are determined.
What are the s124 timeframes?
Resource consent renewal applications lodged at least six months prior to the expiry date have the right to continue to use their consent.
Consents lodged less than six months but more than three months before they expire, do not automatically get s124 rights, but the Council may exercise its discretion to allow the consent holder to continue with the activity until a decision is made.
What happens if I miss the timeframes?
Consents lodged within three months of the expiry date or after the consent has expired do not get s124 rights. In this case the consent holder cannot continue the activity after the consent has expired.
What happens if I get s124 rights, and how long do they last for?
If the right to continue the activity under s124 is allowed then the consent holder can continue to operate within the conditions of the consent until the new consent is either granted, or the consent application is declined.
Jessica Hunter
Environmental Consultant