Proposed changes to free up more capacity for housing
The Government announced decisions proposing to require councils to free up more capacity for housing as part of its Going for Housing Growth plan.
- Going for Housing Growth stage one unveiled press release [Beehive]
Going for Housing Growth has three pillars that address the underlying causes of the housing shortage. These are:
- Pillar One: freeing up land for urban development, including removing some planning barriers
- Pillar Two: improving infrastructure funding and financing to support urban growth
- Pillar Three: providing incentives for communities and councils to support growth.
The new proposals relate to Pillar One.
The proposals are:
- New Housing Growth Targets
- Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) optional for councils.
- Making it easier to build both inside and at the edges of New Zealand’s cities.
- Strengthening existing requirements for housing intensification.
- Rural-urban boundary lines in council plans will be banned to make it easier for new housing to be built on ‘greenfields’ land (land that’s never been built on or developed before).
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Ministry for the Environment are supporting this work programme.