Subdividing your property and selling a piece of it, near your orchard?
Your new neighbours might object to noise or other standard activities from your orchard (eg noise from tractors, motorbikes, agrichemical sprayers etc). This is known as reverse sensitivity. Neighbours can take action against you to manage the impact on them; and, in the future object to other activities that you need a resource consent for.
A ‘no complaints covenant’ is a legally binding agreement that can prevent such actions from being taken. The covenant can be registered as an instrument on the property title you sell off. It can also be:
- a private agreement between you
- a condition of the subdividing resource consent.
We’ve carefully drafted a template covenant agreement for growers subdividing their property. You should seek legal advice about using it.
What kind of action will the covenant prevent?
- suing for nuisance;
- taking any type of enforcement action under the Resource Management Act (RMA);
- making opposing submissions against an application by the effects-producing landowner to obtain new resource consents or renew existing ones; and
- funding or being otherwise involved in any of the above.
If either party breach the agreement, the complainant may take action against the offending party.
