To provide safe and reliable water services, we sometimes need to enter private property to inspect, maintain, repair or upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure. Here you’ll find information about when and why we may need access, what to expect if you receive an Access to Property Notice, and your rights and responsibilities throughout the process.
Many pipes, manholes, culverts and waterways are on private land. This means we may need to enter your property to:
Before we enter your property, we will send you an Access to Property Notice. This tells you:
The 'Access to Property Notice' is a statutory (legally required) notice and you have the right to formally respond to it.
You may provide full consent or require conditions of entry, for example if:
There are details on the Access to Property Notice' about how you respond to us, and by when.
For inspections and operations please provide us with any reasonable conditions for entry within 10 working days. If there is no response, we will visit your property on the date and time advised in the Access to Property Notice.
For maintenance and renewals please provide us with any reasonable conditions for entry within 10 working days. If there is no response, or you refuse consent, we will need to conduct a statutory internal review.
For new water services infrastructure notification will be provided well in advance. Please provide us with any reasonable conditions or consent within 10 working days. If there is no response, or you refuse consent, we will need to conduct a statutory internal review.
You must respond within the timeframe specified in your notice.
If you need help to respond, please contact us at access.notices@iawai.co.nz or on 0800 WATERS (0800 928 377).
An internal review is a step we take when we have sent you an Access to Property Notice but have not received a response, unreasonable conditions have been imposed, or you have declined access.
If we are required to conduct an internal review, we will do this before entering your property.
The internal reviews are carried out by independent Water Services Commissioners. This person is not part of the project team – they are appointed specifically to provide an impartial decision when a landowner either does not respond to an Access to Property Notice or declines consent.
If you do not agree with the outcome of the internal review or hearing, you may have the right to appeal the decision to the District Court.
We will do our best to access your property on the date and at the time we have advised. If there is any change to the date and time of the proposed inspection, we will let you know in writing and give you reasonable notice.
If the work we need to carry out on your property is for new infrastructure and we do not hear from you within 10 working days, or you do not allow us to visit your property, an internal review will be held before the work can begin.
If the work is urgent, we are legally allowed to enter your property without prior permission, but we will give you a retrospective Access to Property Notice as soon as possible. If we can, we will try and let you know before we enter.
Council staff and contractors are required to carry identification. You can ask anyone on your property for this identification.
After we have visited your property, we may leave a calling card letting you know:
If we could not access your property for any reason, we will let you know when we will be back or ask you to call us to arrange a time.
Once the work is completed, we will:
If required, we will complete a pre-work and post-work site survey. This makes sure all parties can easily identify any issues. If we cannot do this, you may be entitled to compensation under the Public Works Act 1981.
If you have any questions, please contact us at access.notices@iawai.co.nz or on 0800 WATERS (0800 928 377).