Legality of real estate signs for discussion

Ross Rainsford
Ross Rainsford
A meeting between Queenstown Lakes district councillors and Wanaka real estate agency representatives will be held on Monday to discuss the signs promoting open homes.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Central Lakes District president Ross Rainsford said the meeting would focus on a complaint made to the council about real estate advertisements and open home signs around Wanaka.

Mr Rainsford said temporary real estate signs notifying prospective buyers about open homes was important to the industry.

"It will be ideal if we can come to some kind of agreement with the council about real estate agents being able to use temporary signage,'' he said.

Mr Rainsford said he was reluctant to discuss the issue of whether signs advertising open homes broke council bylaws until after the meeting.

QLDC regulatory body Lakes Environmental is responsible for enforcing the council bylaws prohibiting signs.

Lakes Environmental chief enforcement officer Tim Francis said the council bylaw had been in effect for the past two years and real estate agents were no different from any other businesses in the district.

Open home signs, such as flags used under car wheels, were on council-owned property - roads - and were there without the permission of the landowner, Mr Francis said.

"This bylaw has been around and rigorously enforced for some time now.  Any sign which is on council-owned land needs a permit, or resource consent, to comply with the bylaw.''

He did not think Wanaka enforcement officers were overzealous in their policing of prohibited signs.

"Any sign which doesn't have a permit is unlawful,'' Mr Francis said.

The sign bylaw had been passed by council after rigorous consultation with business communities and it was a QLDC directive for the bylaw to be "vigourously enforced'', he said.

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