New rules: 3 houses of 3 storeys – no resource consent
Environment Minister David Parker has unveiled a cutting of red tape to boost housing supply.
Tuesday, October 19th 2021, 2:00PM 
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Under new building intensification rules three homes of up to three storeys can be built on most sites without the need for a resource consent.
Existing district plans typically only allow for one home of up to two storeys.
The new rules, Parker says, will result in at least 48,200 and as many as 105,500 new homes being built in the next five to eight years.
Unveiling of the new rules brings forward – by at least one year – the implementation of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) cutting red tape that blocks housing development.
National and Labour are working together to provide policy certainty to developers.
Housing Minister Megan Woods says the housing crisis is a problem decades in the making that will take time to turn around.
“There is no silver bullet, but combined with other measures taken by this Government these changes will start to make a difference.”
Parker says the country’s shortage is being made worse in our biggest cities by limits on the number and types of houses that can be built.
“These changes will enable more homes to be built in areas closer to people’s work, public transport and community facilities.”
PwC undertook a cost-benefit analysis on the NPS-UD and found that 72,000 additional dwellings could be expected by 2043 as a result of implementing the intensification policies in tier one urban areas. PwC says it now considers this likely to be a conservative estimate.
Further modelling by PwC found the proposed medium density residential standards expected to add 48,200-105,500 dwellings on top of these figures, over the next five to eight years.
The standards will enable landowners to build up to three homes of up to three storeys on most sites up to 50% maximum coverage of the site without the need for a resource consent.
There will be exemptions in the medium density rules in areas where intensification is inappropriate, such as where there is a high risk of natural hazards, or a site has heritage value.
In most cases the new rules will have immediate legal effect as soon as plans are publicly notified by councils by August 2022, Parker says.
Changes will be also be made to the NPS-UD to clarify some of the intensification requirements and reduce red tape.
“We’re speeding up the implementation of the NPS-UD, so councils in greater Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch have their intensification policies and rules in place by August 2023, at least a year earlier than under current timelines,” says Parker.
“Since late last year we have been looking at how the NPS-UD could be sped up and strengthened.
“A Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) Amendment Bill will be introduced shortly.
“Making these amendments, while we are undertaking reform of the resource management system, speaks to the urgency of fixing the housing crisis,” says Parker.
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