How to apply for a Flood Assessment Certificate in a rural zone

From 1st of December 2025, any new application for a Flood Assessment Certificate for a rural property will no longer require an ECAN report. Instead, the Council will provide a minimum Finished Floor Level (FFL) for these allotments. Please note that a proposed building platform must be clearly identified on the site plan and all levels must be certified by a registered surveyor, consistent with the current requirements for urban sites. On this date also, FACs charges will be applied on a per lot basis, in alignment with the Long-Term Plan. This fee structure will allow Selwyn District Council to keep the flood model up to date by undertaking regular updates to the model. The current fee for the 2025/26 financial year is: Flood Assessment Certificate fee of $205 plus Flood Assessment of $256 per lot (being a minimum of $461 per FAC).

Information that is required to be submitted with an application for a Flood Assessment Certificate in a Rural Zone

  • Application form
  • Current Record of Title for the property, issued within the last 6 months.
  • Copies of any consent notices registered on the Record of Title
  • Indicative site plan that includes existing site ground levels in relation to a datum reference within the building platform area. The plan must be certified by a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor to a datum mark which is permanent for use during the build. The datum reference shall be in New Zealand Vertical Datum NZVD2016 format.

Note: Any record of title or copies of consent notices can be obtained from Land Information New Zealand. Please note that we do not accept GRIP titles or Historical search titles.
Land Record Search (linz.govt.nz)

Please submit all required information and any further supporting documents to floodassessmentcertificates@selwyn.govt.nz