NZ Tree Smiths

Service

Arborist reports & council compliance

A good arborist report does the talking for you. It tells the council what they need to know, gives your engineer the data to design around, and takes the heat out of a neighbour dispute. A bad one wastes a month and a few thousand dollars.

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NZ Tree Smiths arborist crew performing arborist reports & council compliance on an Auckland property

What it is

An arborist report is a written assessment of one or more trees, prepared by a qualified consulting arborist. Depending on what it's for, it may include species and condition data, structural assessment, root protection zones, retention value, recommendations for works, and supporting site plans and photographs. Ours are written to Auckland Council's current expectations and to the standards that insurers, engineers and body corporate committees actually want to see.

When you'd need it

You're applying for resource or building consent on a property with protected trees

You're buying or selling a property and want a clear read on tree-related risk and liability

A neighbour dispute, insurance claim, or body corporate decision needs an independent expert view

Trees on your site need a Tree Protection Plan during construction or earthworks

Our approach

A five-step process, every time.

  1. 01

    Initial brief — we ask what the report is for and who will read it, so we write to that audience.

  2. 02

    Site visit by an NZQA Level 6 consulting arborist, with measurements, photographs and species ID.

  3. 03

    Desktop work — council schedule check, plan overlays, root protection zone calculations.

  4. 04

    Draft report sent to you for review before it goes any further.

  5. 05

    Final PDF delivered, with us available to answer council or engineer questions at no extra charge.

What's included in the price

  • Initial brief and scoping call
  • Full site visit and inspection
  • Species identification and condition rating
  • Visual Tree Assessment (VTA)
  • Root Protection Zone calculations
  • Council schedule and overlay check
  • Annotated site photographs
  • Site plan with tree positions
  • Clear, plain-English recommendations
  • Draft for your review
  • Final PDF report, council-ready
  • Follow-up correspondence with council or engineer

What you don't pay extra for

  • Phone calls with your council planner
  • Minor revisions after the draft
  • Emailed copies for your engineer or solicitor
  • Storage of the report on file for future reference

FAQ

The questions we hear most.

Recent example

Tree Protection Plan for a new build, Mt Eden

Tree Protection Plan for a new build, Mt Eden

A client was building a new home on a section with two scheduled puriri and a mature kauri. We prepared a Tree Protection Plan covering Root Protection Zones, no-dig areas, ground protection, and a construction sequence the builder could actually follow. The consent went through without conditions and all three trees came through the build untouched.

Ready to talk it through?

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