Bill aims to address housing crisis
Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods and Environment Minister David Parker have announced that the Resource Management Act, with reforms by the National and Labour Parties, has passed in Parliament.
The bill aims to boost housing supply in New Zealand by building up to three homes of up to three storeys on most sites without the need for resource content and cutting the red tape blocking housing development.
Woods commented that passing the legislation with support from the National, Green, and Maori parties will help the government deliver a stable, enduring policy on urban density.
“This gives New Zealand homeowners, councils, developers, and investors greater certainty,” she added. “These changes address the overly restrictive planning rules that limit the types of homes people can build and where they can build them. These changes to the Resource Management Act will allow more affordable homes to be built more easily in areas with good access to jobs, transport, and community facilities like schools and hospitals.”
Meanwhile, Parker said the reforms to the Resource Management Act are critical to boosting housing supply across the country because they include smarter use of land and less urban sprawl, more accessible public transport, more even growth across cities, and multi-generational ways of living.
“There has been robust public discussion on this legislation. Submissions to the Environment Select Committee have contributed to improvements, including a reduced height in relation to boundary, increased outdoor living spaces, and new landscaping and glazing requirements,” he said.
“It was good to see the committee also recommended changes to make it clear councils can continue to plan and manage infrastructure as they do currently. This means they can influence how housing development is delivered in line with how they provide infrastructure.”
Read more: Labour and National reject suggestions for joint housing policy - ACT
The National and Labour parties had been in the hot seat since they announced the reforms, with ACT New Zealand (ACT) being one of those warning both parties about the consequences of passing a “half-baked” housing bill.
Earlier this month, ACT warned National and Labour that the bill could not succeed without adequate infrastructure funding, which both parties rejected.
“New Zealanders deserve better than Labour and National rushing it through Parliament under the cover of COVID-19 and Christmas,” said ACT Leader David Seymour. “If Labour and National continue to rush the legislation, and changes aren’t made, the secret housing deal risks becoming KiwiBuild 2.0.
“Builders and councils say the real shortage is infrastructure – councils can’t afford it. It doesn’t matter how many houses could be theoretically built if there [are] no connections. Without more infrastructure, there won’t be more houses in total; they’ll just be in different places.”
Sentinel Planning, a town planner turned developer, aired the same sentiments and emphasised that there was no justification for the pre-Christmas rush to pass the joint housing policy.
“Given this legislation will affect our nation’s suburban outlook for many generations to come, there is a need for careful and considered lawmaking,” said Simon O’Connor, managing director of Sentinel Planning.
“What we have here is New Zealand’s two main political parties rushing through the House a law that is ill-considered and problematic on several levels. This law will provide short-term gains with long-lasting regrets.”
