Queenstown Lakes District Council has been inundated by visitor accommodation paperwork as property owners scramble to get sign-off before proposed rule changes take effect.
The authority received 161 visitor accommodation consent applications in November and December.
It had received just 73 all year before that. In November and December 2016, only seven consents were processed.
The influx has been prompted by plans to cut the number of days a residential property can be let, from the current 90 days without resource consent to 28.
But, crucially, homeowners who can prove they are legally operating under the existing district plan rules now, will be able to continue operating in the same way, even if the rules change.
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult said he was pleased that the plans had prompted people to comply.
''It's disappointing it's taken council to act in the way it has for people to come forward.
''However, it is positive we're tidying this up. It doesn't surprise me and I think council was well aware that a lot more activity went on in this space than we were aware of.''
One way to prove compliance is a ''certificate of compliance'', and 108 of the November and December applications are for such consent certificates.
Queenstown's council resource consents boss Quinn McIntyre said his team was under pressure but coping, with more staff and a pool of external contractors.
