A probe into potential breaches of short-term visitor accommodation rules has the Mackenzie District Council investigating 655 properties.
By Claire Taylor of Local Democracy Reporting
The council launched a compliance programme to tackle the issue, and confirmed it had appointed an officer to investigate short-term accommodation listings in the district in July.
Following the launch of the campaign, the council asked residents to dob-in any non-compliant accommodation providers and early last month it already had a list of 200 under investigation.
However, that had quickly ballooned and the council has confirmed it now has 655 properties under investigation.
A council spokesperson said every known short-term accommodation provider in the district would be assessed.
They said the compliance officer would assess each property against the District Plan, Resource Management Act 1991, the Building Act 2004, and related legislation, before making any determination.
Information would also be sought about the operations of the accommodation and checked alongside council’s resource consents, building consents, and rates.
“Information is sought on guest numbers, the number of units on a property, configuration and physical characteristics of units which are used for short-term visitor accommodation.”
If any non-compliance was identified, property owners and management companies would be required to cease any unauthorised activity and apply for the necessary consents, they said.
The district rules allow one residential unit per site to accommodate no more than six guests per night, while multi-unit operations and larger operations required resource consent.
Targeted rates include a tourism and promotion rate
Accommodation providers were also subject to targeted rates, including a tourism and promotion rate.
Monitoring and additional checks would also be carried out to determine compliance and ensure the correct rates were applied to each property, they said.
“Site monitoring is undertaken to ensure compliance, and enforcement is carried out if contraventions are found to be continuing.”
The compliance programme was introduced by the council in July, after a number of short-term accommodation providers were found to be operating outside the intended planning rules and building use classifications.
At the time of introducing the compliance programme, the council’s corporate planner Julie Shanks said of the 200 short-term accommodation providers that were under investigation, 64 had been found to be non-compliant.
Accommodation issues have been identified as a priority by the council, as concerns over limited housing and rapid short-term accommodation developments continue to grow among the community.
In April, mayor Scott Aronsen warned a firmer approach to short-term accommodation was coming, and in May the council voted to sell a council-owned lot in Tekapo to make way for worker accommodation.
The following month, at a council workshop, consultant Philip Jones questioned why short-term accommodation was not classed as a commercial activity in the district.
– Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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