Christchurch’s new short-term visitor rental rules require consents over 60 days

Thursday, 27 July 2023

Christchurch Holiday Homes general manager Karen Gilby at some of the 70 homes and units the company manages as short-term visitor accommodation.

New rules mean Christchurch homeowners will need resource consent to rent their properties to visitors for more than 60 days a year.

The rules are the result of mediation between Christchurch City Council (CCC) and other parties after Airbnb appealed earlier council plans requiring anyone leasing a property for short-term visitor accommodation to obtain consent.

Airbnb New Zealand and Australia manager Susan Wheeldon previously described the proposed rules as some of the “most restrictive and outdated home sharing laws in Australasia”, when they were announced in 2022.

Even council staff members were concerned about the plan, stating it would be difficult to enforce.

Christchurch property owners who rent their homes to visitors and live on site will not need resource consent.

The new rules state that houses or units in residential zones - where the owner does not live on site - could be rented for up to 60 nights per year without needing a resource consent.

A resource consent was required if a property was rented out for more than 60 nights per year, or to more than eight guests in one booking.

Property owners who host visitor accommodation in most residential and rural zones and live on site will not need a resource consent for up to eight guests.

However, they will be required to notify CCC and keep records of the number of nights they rent rooms out.

In rural zones houses can be rented as unhosted accommodation for a maximum of 180 nights per year without requiring a resource consent but those rented for longer periods or exceeding more than eight guests, must have a resource consent.

CCC head of planning and consents John Higgins says it was good to have the final orders from the Environment Court, reflecting the position reached by all parties through the mediation process.

The new rules acknowledged the benefits of short-term accommodation, while also managing potential impacts on neighbours and the community, he said.

Wheeldon said the outcomes from the mediation with CCC have “provided some certainty for the role of short-term rental accommodation in the region”.

“The original proposal would have placed highly onerous restrictions on Airbnb’s community of Hosts in Christchurch, and threatened to remove flexibility and options in accommodation for visitors to the Christchurch region,” she said.

“This outcome further highlights the necessity for moving towards a national framework for the short-term rental accommodation sector in New Zealand as this is one of numerous local authorities around the country that have progressed regulations in isolation and added to the inconsistency we have seen.”

Canterbury branch president of Hospitality New Zealand Peter Morrison wants to see private short-term accommodation providers following the same rules and paying the same rates as commercial providers.

Christchurch Holiday Homes business director Sue Harrison said it was good to have some clarity around the rules and for the value of private accommodation providers to the community to be recognised.

New facilities in Christchurch - including Te Pae, the Parakiore recreation and sport centre and a covered sports stadium - there would be more demand for accommodation, she said.

“These massive centres create a lot of events and that’s where businesses see spikes in demand for accommodation,” she said.

“Often a hotel is just not suitable.”

Her company had about 70 properties it managed as short-term accommodation providing another income stream for the owners.

“It’s a huge benefit to some people - maybe a superannuitant who has time to help visitors. You’ll never get that personal touch at a hotel or motel,“ she said.

The council anticipated a resource consent would cost about $1000, but she believed that could be higher.

Hospitality NZ Canterbury branch president Peter Morrison said the rules were not perfect but “heading in the right direction”.

He would prefer to see short-term accommodation providers on a more level playing field with commercial operators.

“They should have to have the same licenses and pay commercial rates,” he said.

“There really needs to be a national policy from government so everyone is the same,” he said.

Higgins said that different rules applied in specific situations, such as properties in the airport noise contour and heritage buildings.

“If you have a house that you rent out for short-term accommodation it’s important that you learn about what the new rules are and what this might mean for your property,” he said.

The new rules were effective from Monday, and Council would make the plan change operative at its meeting in September.

A similar mediation in Queenstown Lakes resulted in rules allowing residential visitor accommodation ranging from 42 nights in the Jacks Point Zone (due to the area’s constitution), up to 90 nights in many residential areas and higher in other zones, including the centre of town. Resource consent would be required above those limits.