Front lawn the latest frontier of accommodation

The founder of a new website selling tent sites on private lawns would like to see the Camping Ground Regulations relaxed.

Ben de Rijk recently launched the Camp on Our Lawn website, and his call for change is supported by another peer-to-peer platform hooking up travellers with private property owners willing to host campervans and tents.

Under current rules such properties are limited to one paying camping party at a time, and those wanting to take more have to meet campground standards for ablution facilities and fire safety.

De Rijk said new technology had allowed for services such as Airbnb and Uber, and it was time the Camping Ground Regulations, dating from 1985, were revamped.

So far he has eight hosts listed on his site, ranging from rural properties to an urban Pukekohe home, and they set their own tariffs which were as low as $12 a night single adult.

De Rijk said he believed larger properties capable of accommodating a number of tents should be permitted to do so, provided they did not upset the neighbours, as it would help overcome issues with freedom camping.

Kazel Cass is listed on Camp On My Lawn and charges $20 a night for two adults to stay in a secluded glade on her Lower Kaimai organic lifestyle block.

Although she has not yet had any for a bookings, she is keen to extend the number of sites and install a composting toilet. .

The Campable app launched in 2017 initially catered for motorhomes, but general manager Maria Mahony said they extended the service to tents as well last summer in response to demand.

Now about 20 per cent of their 300 hosts offer tent sites, and she agrees that it’s time the regulations were overhauled so private property owners with sufficient space were not limited to one paid group.

Holiday Parks Association chief executive Fergus Brown said his organisation was already working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on a review of the regulations.

It was complicated by the fact that health and safety regulations and the building code, which specified ablution facilities for camping grounds, also came into play.

Brown said they were not opposed to private property owners taking paying guests in tents, provided they met accepted standards.