Landowner approvals

​What is a landowner approval?

The council is a landowner and sometimes needs to give approval to people or groups who want to use council-owned land.

Landowner approval generally involves parks or reserves but can include all council facilities.

Your application for landowner approval includes an assessment fee and is processed by the Land Advisory Services Team (LAS).

For one-off events see our page on event permits.

When you need landowner approval

Some activities which require approval include:

• commercial activity on a reserve like a night market
• laying stormwater and wastewater pipes in a reserve
• power, water or communications companies seeking to install infrastructure on council land
• conducting research on a park
• mobile vendors trading on a reserve or park
• creating or installing something, e.g. fencing, plants, playgrounds, small buildings, sports facilities
• accessing a construction site through a park
• easements, rights of way and other legal permissions.

The length of an approval request can vary, including:

• very short-term access
• medium-term occupation or use
• to long-term use involving a licence or lease.
• right of entry or short-term permission to access council land for no more than one to two days.

How to apply for a landowner approval

Download the checklist and application form.

Email your application form and supporting documents to landadvisors@aklc.govt.nz.

​Landowner approval fees

Fees are charged upfront, and the amount depends on the complexity of your application.

There is a 50 per cent reduction in all fees for:

• registered community groups
• incorporated societies
• charitable trusts.

What we can’t approve

We don't process applications for:

• resource or building consents
• offsite mitigation that has been proposed as part of a resource consent
• requests for land not owned by the council, such as private land.

​What happens next

You get an automatic acknowledgement after we receive your application.

We send you an invoice based on the initial assessment.

When payment is received, we will get in touch with you within three working days to discuss the next steps.

If you have any questions about the approval process, email

landadvisors@aklc.govt.nz or call our us on

Call Auckland Council helpline on 09 301 0101 and ask to speak to Community Facilities Land Advisory Services.

How we assess your request

Applying for approval does not guarantee that it will be granted.

We will weigh up our responsibilities as a protector of the land with the interests of the applicant and any public interest.

We can decline or approve any application, and the decision can’t be appealed.

Most applications can be approved by LAS after consultation with the relevant local board.

Sometimes a local board will want to discuss the decision itself. If that happens, a business report will be put to a local board agenda.

Approvals have a range of conditions that you will need to agree to in writing.