Changes to the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) continue to make headlines as the Coalition Government works through its policy agenda. This article – authored by Kate Stubbing, Senior Associate at Cooney Lees Morgan – provides a snapshot of the latest changes relating to housing, including further changes that have been signalled.
A recent announcement is the proposal to remove building and resource consent requirements for “granny flats” (small houses up to 60m² floor area). The Government released a discussion paper in June which outlines a number of options that could enable granny flats across residential and rural zones around the country.
Proposal to Remove Consent Requirements for Granny Flats
The intention is to increase affordable housing stock, particularly for seniors and young families. One new standalone detached house would be allowed on each property. While building consent would not be required, it would still need to be designed and built to comply with the building code.
Feedback is open on the granny flats proposal until early August. There is still a lot of detail to be worked through before any bill will be introduced to Parliament. Any required changes to the RMA, Building Act, and Local Government Act are unlikely to take effect until mid-2025.
There has been a mixed reaction to the granny flats proposal so far. While many people support the intention to remove some of the red tape and costs associated with resource and building consents, there is no simple or single solution. A key concern of the latest proposal is the impact on infrastructure within existing residential areas (in particular) and its potential inability to cope with the demand that additional people would put on those services.
Historical Context: 2021 Enabling Housing Supply Amendments
Similar concerns were raised to the bipartisan proposal and enabling housing supply amendments to the RMA in 2021. This required local authorities in most main centres in Aotearoa to change their district plans to allow for three houses per site (each being up to three storeys) without needing to obtain resource consent.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s Plan Change 92
In May the Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s enabling housing plan change (Plan Change 92) became operative after following the new intensified streamlined planning process. Across most residential areas in Ōmokoroa and Te Puke greater density has been enabled through changes to the district plan rules.
Tauranga City’s Plan Change 33 and Ministerial Decisions
Within Tauranga City, the enabling housing plan change (Plan Change 33) became operative in part on 26 June. Last week Minister Bishop released his decisions on the two recommendations from the Independent Hearing Panel that were rejected by the Council.
Minister Bishop agreed with the Council’s recommendation in relation to heights within Mount Maunganui North, with some areas increasing from effectively 12 metres (as recommended by the Panel) to either 16 metres or 22 metres, depending on the distance from the town centre. Minister Bishop agreed with the Panel’s recommendation to remove the permitted building height limit in Area F in the City Centre Zone. In both cases the reasons for the Minister’s decision were focused on the ability to enable greater development capacity. There is no right to appeal the Minister’s decision.
Variation 1 to Plan Change 33: Rezoning Tauriko West
Using the streamlined process, Variation 1 to Plan Change 33 was notified in March 2024 and proposes to rezone Tauriko West as a residential zone. The next steps are further submissions, hearings and decisions which will continue to progress through 2024 and next year.
Around the country, other enabling housing plan changes continue through the process. For example, Auckland Council was granted a further one-year extension for its process. Minister Bishop announced in March 2024 that the Government will be allowing councils to opt out of the enabling housing requirements (these changes have not yet been made to the RMA).
Future Changes to the RMA for Housing Growth
Finally, we expect further changes to the RMA to “make housing growth easier”, in the form of both further enabling greenfields growth and more density. We anticipate these changes will be included in a second RMA amendment bill introduced later in 2024.
