A strong public response to the Queenstown Lakes District Council's accommodation amnesty has prompted the Council to grant a further extension.

In November the Council sent hundreds of letters to potential visitor accommodation providers outlining rate implications and resource consent requirements.

"This followed similar campaigns in 1998 and 2002," QLDC chief executive Duncan Field said.

In terms of the Resource Management Act visitor accommodation applied to properties offering short term accommodation, less than three months for more than four paying guests.

In response to the letter campaign and additional publicity, CivicCorp and the Council had fielded hundreds of enquiries with 40 properties, to date, applying for resource consent.

"The amnesty officially ended this week but due to the excellent response we decided to extend the period and broaden the campaign," Mr Field said.

The Council would include the relevant information in its newsletter, which is sent to all out-of-town ratepayers (6,500).

"The community will now have until February 4, 2005 to check on the status of property," Mr Field said.

Although failure to comply under the Resource Management Act carried hefty penalties the Council was not interested in taking prosecutions against its ratepayers.

"Nor will we be closing down responsible operators while they seek to put in place the correct consents. There are two issues here, equity for all ratepayers who should not have to foot the bill for visitor infrastructure and the risk and liability of those operating without the necessary consents in place," Mr Field said.

The Council considered that many were genuinely unaware of the rules and how they applied to them.

"We are allowing some additional leeway to ensure that everyone has the opportunity and time to seek clarity and where appropriate commence paying accommodation rates from July next year or apply for a resource consent," Mr Field said.

ENDS

For further information contact Duncan Field 03 4410499

By: Kiri