Construction next to residential houses

What to expect when construction occurs next door or in your neighbourhood.

The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and District Plan allow construction on the condition that disruption is temporary and not excessive. However, even small developments can take up to 12 months to complete.

Once resource consent is granted, there are conditions the property owner needs to comply with. These are listed in the resource consent decision notice. We will inspect the site at different times during construction to check all conditions are being met. We do this to protect the environment and the community from any effects it may cause. Find out more about monitoring resource consent conditions.

If you would like a copy of the resource consent decision notice for a construction site in your neighbourhood, you can email BUS.planning@wcc.govt.nz.

What to expect

  • Noisy construction noise between the hours of 7.30am to 6.00pm, Monday to Saturday. Construction should not be noisy outside of these hours unless you’ve been told it will be through a letter drop from the developer.
  • There might be low-level music played by construction workers during standard construction hours, but it should not be loud or excessive.
  • Earthworks cuts close to your boundary that are battered to a gentle slope, or temporarily retained to prevent instability of the site and your land. There should not be unstable high cuts directly next to your property or excavation over the boundary onto your property.
  • Runoff controls to be set up such as silt fencing or retention ponds, with public drains protected by drainage socks. Silt laden runoff/water should not be leaving the site and into neighbour’s properties, public stormwater systems or streams.
  • Dust controls to be installed such as sprinkler systems, water trucks, hoses and gravelling and/or landscaping of exposed earthworks. The dust should be controlled in a way that means it is not leaving the site and dirtying neighbouring land, houses, or vehicles.
  • Some temporary road and traffic restrictions while construction workers use on street parking with professional traffic management systems set up. Illegal parking, dangerous driving and long periods of parking inconvenience is not allowed.
  • Some waste material and rubbish, contained to the site. Rubbish and construction material should not be stored on the footpath, nor should it blow onto neighbouring land.
  • Minimal damage to footpaths, roads, and other public infrastructure. They should not be damaged so badly that they can’t be used safely.
  • Site is secure after hours and should not be accessible after hours.

Who to contact

A site notice board should be displayed at the street boundary of the construction site and include the developer’s contact details. If you feel construction is adversely affecting you, we suggest you talk to the developer first.

If the developer can’t address your concerns, and you feel the impacts are excessive, you can: