Beekeeping

Beekeeping is great for honey to eat or to sell, or to pollinate your fruit, vegetables or other crops.

If you want to keep beehives (apiaries) in an urban part of Kāpiti, you’ll need to have an apiarist assessment done, apply for a licence, and register your hives. Your licence details help us know:

what hives are in the district
who owns them
that your neighbours are aware of the hives and are happy for them to be there.

Requirements | Apply for a licence | Neighbours' agreement |

Requirements

Beekeepers must:

make sure any beehives in a non-urban area at least 10 metres from any public place (unless you’ve been granted an exemption from Council)
register your hives with the Management Agency within 30 days of placing the hives on site
make sure your hives are set up and maintained so they won’t be a nuisance, or dangerous or harmful.

You’ll also need to show that your neighbours are aware of the hives, and happy for them to be there. This is covered in your licence application.

A licence might be cancelled if:

the conditions of the licence are not being met
Council receives nuisance complaints from two or more neighbours.

A licence is only given:

for hobbyist beekeeping (not for commercial gain)
for bees to be kept according to the conditions outlined in the application.

Apply for a licence

To apply for a beekeeping licence in Kāpiti, complete the following:

application to keep bees in an urban area[PDF 190 KB] (printable)
online application to keep bees in an urban area.

Neighbours' agreement

Council considers the views of immediate neighbours and occupiers/owners who may be affected. Applicants are required to provide written confirmation with their application of neighbours' support for the application; this is taken as confirmation that any effects on neighbours don't need to be considered further.

If you've been asked to give your agreement but do not support the application, you can contact a compliance officer at the Council to discuss your concerns.

If neighbours subsequently sell their property, they need to advise any prospective purchaser of the property that occupied beehives are kept on an adjoining property.