Changes are proposed to help solve New Zealand’s housing shortage, help make houses more affordable and enable more housing choices. Medium density housing would be allowed, and planning processes would be streamlined.
Current council plans do not allow sufficient housing choice. According to the OECD's Building for a Better Tomorrow report, New Zealand has the least affordable housing market for the lowest income families, and one of the most expensive housing markets relative to income in the OECD.
The proposal is for the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to be amended to allow the changes to happen before the RMA is repealed and replaced by the Natural and Built Environments Act. This would happen as part of wider resource management system reform.
It means more urban development could happen sooner, rather than having to wait until the wider resource management system reforms kick in.
The changes will allow housing intensification in New Zealand’s main city urban areas.
They will:
People would not be forced to build more densely but planning barriers to building higher would be removed.
Protection would still be given to historic heritage, natural hazards and natural environment.
Find out more on the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development website
If you have questions, email them to npsurbandevelopment@mfe.govt.nz