Of the 1888 infringement fines the Queenstown Lakes District Council has issued since December 22 - three days after the updated bylaw took effect - 500 were cancelled after people proved they were not freedom-camping and 881 have been paid, leaving 507 fines outstanding.
The $200 fines are issued to camping vehicles found in prohibited areas or for camping in a vehicle which is not ''self-contained'' - meaning it does not have its own toilet or water facilities.
Council regulatory manager Lee Webster said the number of unpaid fines may seem high but he considered the number of cancelled and paid fines also to be high.
Mr Webster said fines were issued to whoever was responsible for the vehicle.
If a vehicle was hired, the council contacted the rental company, which then forwarded details of the hirer to the council, as provided for in rental agreements.
He said it was legal for rental companies to pay fines accumulated by their customers and charge customers' credit cards, but companies chose not to.
This was ''challenging'', as it would be ''a lot easier'' to recover money this way.
''Trying to recoup those funds from people who have decided they're not going to [pay]'' was difficult, but he warned the council had decided ''it's one that we will pursue''.
Rental Vehicle Association New Zealand chief executive Philip Manning said it was not the responsibility of rental companies to enforce council bylaws.
''They choose to have the bylaws - they should enforce them.''
Mr Manning said companies distributed information to customers about what their responsibilities were, but the companies should not be held accountable for where vehicles went or were parked.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council's first freedom-camping bylaw came into effect in September 2011 and when the Freedom Camping Act was changed in 2012 the council bylaw was updated.
Before the bylaw took effect, hearings were held in Queenstown and Wanaka, with many submitters concerned about pollution, including human waste, left behind by some freedom campers.
The Otago Daily Times last week reported the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association believed the QLDC had not been specific enough in detailing ''why they need to have such large areas prohibited''.
Association general manager Bruce Lochore offered to meet council chief executive Adam Feeley and consult on the areas covered by the bylaw.
Earlier this year, the association scored a victory when it challenged the Westland District Council over its freedom camping bylaw, and the council decided to suspend the bylaw. It now plans to review the bylaw.
