Plan and Build
Building and Planning Consent Christmas Processing Times
Both the Building Act 2004 and the Resource Management Act 1991 stop the statutory processing clock over Christmas and New Year. The period beginning 20 December and ending with the close of 10 January is excluded from the 20-working day timeframe which means that during these dates the processing clock stops. Therefore, any Resource or Building Consent submitted on or after Friday, 19th December 2025 will not begin processing until Monday, 12th January 2026 due to the Christmas/New Year break. If you would like your Resource or Building Consent to be processed before Christmas (barring any further information requests which stop the processing clock), please submit your application prior to Friday, 21 November 2025.
Good to know: You may need to apply for both a building consent and a resource consent. Despite having a building consent, you may not be able to build without a resource consent and vice versa. Applications must be lodged separately and are considered under different legislation.