From today until 5 December, Auckland Council is seeking public feedback on proposed changes to the Te Ture ā-rohe Tiaki Rawa me Ngā Mahi Whakapōrearea 2015 / Property Maintenance and Nuisance Bylaw 2015.
The purpose of the Bylaw is to minimise public health risks and nuisance caused by poorly maintained private property. It sets rules about the deposition of materials, overgrown vegetation, abandoned buildings and industrial cooling tower water systems.
Chair of the Property Maintenance and Nuisance Bylaw Panel, Councillor Linda Cooper, says these changes are the result of a review of the Bylaw in late 2020.
“The review determined that a bylaw regarding property maintenance is still the most appropriate way to help minimise public health risks and nuisance caused by poorly maintained private property.
“We therefore are only proposing minimal changes to the existing Bylaw.”
The proposed changes include:
- removing rules about lighting, now regulated in the Auckland Unitary Plan
- removing references to expired legacy bylaws
- updating the definitions, structure, format and wording of the Bylaw.
No public feedback is being sought on other aspects related to the Bylaw. These include:
- the relocation of the feeding of wild animals rule to the Animal Management Bylaw 2015
- the use of existing legislation to address other property maintenance-related matters such as lighting requirements in the Auckland Unitary Plan and regulation of visual amenity in the Property Law Act 2007
- the effect of current rules in the Bylaw that are not proposed to change, for example, the requirement to register and maintain an Industrial Cooling Tower Water System.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, all public consultation for the Property Maintenance and Nuisance Bylaw 2015 is online. As part of online consultation, a Have Your Say event will take place on November 8, 2021.
For the full proposed Bylaw and more information on how you can have your say, visit the Property Maintenance Have Your Say webpage.
