In a bid to seriously address the housing crisis, the Government has announced plans to change the Resource Management Act, reducing red tape and allowing for intensification of housing throughout the country. In my view this is a very positive move.
Labour have the support of National with this proposal, which will allow up to three homes of up to three storeys to be built on most sites without the need for a resource consent. This will cut through outdated local zoning rules that are holding many towns and cities back (many of them are stuck in the 1960s, thinking that everyone needs a big back yard).
It is expected that the new rules will facilitate an additional 48,200 to 105,000 new homes to be built over the next 5-8 years.
Will this result in a housing boom in the regions for larger more developable sites? My guess is yes, and I and several GRA members have been tanking up on land in smaller centres in anticipation of this. I think there is still value in these areas on larger sites, before the market works out the implications of this information. So, readers might profit from taking action on this information sooner than later.
GRA held an RMA changes webinar on 4 November, and you can view the recording here.
While Labour deserves some praise for working with the very commercial people in National on this new policy, I think they should go even further and spread the Auckland Unitary Plan rules across the entire country.
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