Owners were told to get resource consents in order in 2022, after the Queenstown Lakes District Council discovered some privately owned moorings did not hold up-to-date, required documentation.
Yesterday, a council spokesperson said 10 consents had since been completed retrospectively.
"Given mooring owners have received several communications over the past three years outlining requirements, council has indicated that if they do not hold a resource consent, or have one in processing, and have not undertaken their two-yearly mooring inspection by 30 June this year then they will not be issued a new mooring permit from council," the spokesperson said.
Forty-one applications were being processed, most waiting on a recent mooring inspection report.
It had been explained to owners the need to obtain consent was not a new requirement, and had existed since 2005, they said.
In October, Rory Cassidy Fennell, of Queenstown, was one of the first to receive retrospective consent for his Lake Wakatipu mooring.
This month, he planned to sell it.
He bought it in August 2024 - and declined to say how much he paid - as the previous owner had became frustrated by the consenting process.
It was only by making concessions to the council he could "stop dealing with the consenting process and just get to the end", he said.
"It wasn’t fun."
He felt a lot of owners were struggling with the process and were less willing to agree to the council’s conditions.
For consent to be granted, his two swing moorings in Queenstown Bay, servicing two vessels, became a single bow-and-stern mooring used for one vessel, Mr Cassidy Fennell said.
"The apparent risk was that the [TSS Earnslaw] would not be able to avoid striking boats moored up there."
He estimated the consent process had cost him between $5000 and $10,000.
Although he had intended to lease them, interest was slim.
"At this point it seems more beneficial for me to sell them rather than lease them.
"I don’t have a boat and I’m not imaginative enough to think of a really good business idea to use for them."
Mr Cassidy Fennell initially advertised the mooring for $35,000 and received significant interest.
Thinking he had underpriced the mooring, he took the listing down.
He planned to list it again on Trade Me later this month with a $45,000 reserve.
The council spokesperson said resource consent applications needed to be supported by a recent mooring inspection report, written approval from Land Information New Zealand and evidence of consultation with iwi - ‘‘to obtain their feedback and, ideally, approval".
Some applications had not progressed as owners, or their planning consultants, had not provided one or more of the items.
In the three years from 2022, the council had taken the ‘‘unusual" step of running its own engagement with iwi, aiming to obtain feedback and approval for all moorings.
The spokesperson said the council did so as it was aware of potential difficulty understanding resource management consultation requirements.
However, the consultation did not secure the approval of iwi and, as a result, the consents were required to be processed through a limited notification process.
