New housing rules: 'There are going to be issues'

Wednesday, 20 October 2021

Housing Minister Megan Woods announces a new bill to force councils to enable more dense housing. Video first published in October 2021.

New housing rules may raise questions about the quality and appropriateness of new homes being developed, one construction expert says.

The Government and National Party announced plans this week to introduce legislation to increase housing supply in Auckland, greater Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch.

The new rules will allow councils to implement intensification policies more quickly, and allow people to develop homes of up to three storeys on most sites without a resource consent.

At the moment, a neighbourhood may be zoned as a single-family area, which means anyone wanting to build something other than a standard house has to apply for a resource consent. Councils can reject a proposal for many reasons, and neighbours are usually asked for their feedback.

* Labour, National announce sweeping housing density law, three-storey homes without consent

* Government project targets 'ghost houses' to encourage owners to fill empty homes

The planned changes have prompted concern from some who worry that they will see the make-up of their neighbourhoods change dramatically and without their input.

It will be easier to build townhouses under the new rules.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said while he was aware of the problem of housing unaffordability, which needed to be addressed, new housing and neighbourhoods needed to be attractive and “good places to live”.

“Aucklanders also wish to retain the best of Auckland’s character and heritage. This needs to be balanced with the need for more housing,” Goff said.

“In our submission on the Government’s bill, we will be addressing our concerns in these areas.”

AUT Professor of Construction Management John Tookey said Building Act requirements would still apply which would cover the materials and processes used.

“They are not going to be wrecks. Any houses have to be built to the appropriate standards. But the question mark is whether or not they are in keeping with the locale, sight lines, daylight provision – that’s more problematic.”

Tookey said there could be some nuance and clarity worked out as the bill worked through Parliament.

“If you’re sitting in a 1980s villa and all of a sudden you’ve got nine apartments in three blocks sat overlooking your back garden then obviously the question mark is one of whether it’s in keeping with local planning.”

A spokesperson for Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said while there would be no requirement to consult with neighbours if a house met all the requirements of the standards and other district plan rules, councils already had urban design policies and objectives to encourage high quality design and these could continue to apply.

“Building standards that have informed the medium density residential standards have been used to achieve a greater potential diversity in design than what is seen in typical residential zones, whilst still ensuring an acceptable level of amenity per site.

“Councils will be able to limit development if there are good reasons using the qualifying matters in the National Policy Statement -Urban Development. This includes protecting heritage.”

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said there should be a balance. “To rather have homelessness and insufficient home than a house next door is bizarre.”

He said it was likely that smaller builders would be able to build more homes because of the decision. “It’s the biggest housing policy decision we’ve ever had – it doubles land supply overnight.”

Tookey said there were also questions about whether the industry could deliver the number of homes that Government has said the moves would create. Analysis has suggested it could add up to 105000 new homes in the next five to eight years.

“If we deliver on these large-scale numbers, there needs to be capacity in place to be able to do that,” Tookey said. “This is in addition to the existing growth and existing behaviour. We’ve been growing by 16 per cent to 17 per cent per annum for over a decade. Absorbing that growth rate has been phenomenally difficult and we have been starting to creak at the seams and now we’re going to up that again? Where are the workers going to come from, the training, what are we going to do in terms of strategic sourcing materials?

“The bottom line is it’s not all sweetness and light. There are going to be issues.”