Housing intensification

In our last issue, Hibiscus Matters reported on Auckland Council’s consultation on a draft replacement plan change that will allow increased housing density across Auckland and the Hibiscus Coast. 

For many residents, these changes and requirements by central and local governments may seem confusing, so here is  a timeline of what is happening and when.

Intensification plan timeline

2020–2021: National Policy and Legislation 

August 2020: The National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPSUD) came into force, requiring urban centres like Auckland to allow more housing density, especially near centres and public transport, and removal of minimum parking rates from district plans. 

2021: Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) were introduced, requiring Council to incorporate them into every relevant residential zone in its district plan. This would have at least three homes of up to three storeys on most residential sections, unless special exemptions (“qualifying matters”) apply. 

2022: Auckland Council Plan Change 78 

August 2022: Council notified Proposed Plan Change 78 (PC 78) to implement NPSUD and MDRS

September 2022: Submissions closed. The plan proposed widespread rezoning, including shifting large areas from single-house zones to medium-density zones. 

2023: Hazard Risks and Extension

January / February 2023: The Auckland Anniversary floods followed by Cyclone Gabrielle impacted numerous communities, property and infrastructure causing billions of dollars of damage.

2024: 

March 2024: Central government granted Auckland Council a one-year extension to notify decisions on PC 78 due to the impact of the Auckland Anniversary floods and the cancellation of Auckland Light Rail.

July 2024: Government announced stage one of its Going for Housing Growth programme outlining changes to further free up land for development, including revising the existing NPSUD and making the MDRS optional for councils. 

2025: Shift Toward a Replacement Plan 

April 2025: Only the City Centre provisions of PC 78 were made operative. The rest of the plan is stalled due to issues around hazard risks. 

Mid-2025: Legislative changes allow Auckland Council to withdraw PC 78 (in part or whole) and replace it, provided the replacement delivers the same housing capacity. 

August 2025: Council’s Policy and Planning Committee endorses a draft replacement plan change. The new draft focuses on enabling intensification in well-connected areas (such as near town centres and along main transport routes) while protecting the most flood-prone land.

Late August – September 2025: Mana whenua and local boards provide feedback on the draft plan. 

September-October 2025: Next Steps 

September 2025: Council’s Policy and Planning Committee will review feedback and decide whether to withdraw PC 78 in part and notify the replacement plan. 

If Council’s Policy and Planning Committee decides to proceed with a replacement plan change at the end of September, subject to agreement from the Minister for Resource Management Reform, it will notify a replacement plan change for the public to make submissions on. It will be heard by a panel of experts before final decisions are made.

Current status 

Only the City Centre part of PC 78 is in effect. Suburban areas, including the Hibiscus Coast, have given feedback.

Draft replacement rules are with council local boards and iwi for their feedback.

Council has released a ‘myths and facts’ advisory about housing intensification. 

The following points reflect Council’s position:

Myth: Two million homes will be built.
Fact: Housing capacity is not a building target 

The draft plan allows capacity for up to two million dwellings in residential areas and business zones over the next 30 years, but that’s not a target for construction.

Capacity is the maximum that could be built if every suitable site was fully developed. 

It’s about supporting the supply of housing long-term, not what will actually be built or when.

What gets built will be up to property owners and developers. Auckland has built around 14,000 homes per year since 2018 (approximately 100,000 homes). Even at that pace, it would take more than 100 years to reach two million.

The council’s projections for housing demand over the next 30 years are around 241,000 new homes. Extra capacity is deliberate as it gives developers choices in locations and housing types, to meet market demand and provide flexibility for long term shifts in the housing market and population.

It helps affordability. Having plenty of land available for potential housing encourages more choice and market competition, which helps ease price pressure over time.

Myth: The council can push back on two million homes.
Fact: Housing capacity is required by the government, it is not optional

The council can choose between progressing PC 78 or having a replacement plan change.

Under the government’s law changes, if Council withdraws Plan Change 78, it must replace it with a new plan change that still provides for at least the same capacity that PC 78 currently enables, which is approximately two million homes.

PC 78 doesn’t legally allow Council to strengthen rules to better protect people and property. It also enables widespread three-storey medium density housing across almost every residential site in Auckland, including areas with poor access to public transport.

A replacement plan change gives Council the ability to introduce stronger rules to limit new homes in high-risk areas and give greater focus to building homes in safer, well-connected places such as town centres and major transport infrastructure.

Myth: Every street will turn into apartment blocks.
Fact: Housing types will still be mixed

Zoning rules only set out what could be built over the next 30 years but don’t require that development to happen or for every site to become an apartment building.

Upzoning provides more housing choices. Even in areas allowing apartments, there will still be a mix of housing types, such as townhouses.

Property owners and developers decide what happens based on market demand and development usually happens gradually, typically over decades. More homes would be enabled where people can have easy access to jobs, services and transport infrastructure. This is within walking distances of 15 minutes around the city centre, 10 minutes around major town centres, train stations and stations on the Northern and Eastern Busways, and along a number of major roads with frequent bus services.

Building heights also depend on meeting rules for homes to have sunlight, privacy, allowing space between buildings, and to meet safety and engineering standards.

Myth: Building in expensive suburbs won’t improve affordability.
Fact: More homes and more choice eases price pressure

For most homes, the land is the biggest cost. Allowing more homes on a site spreads the land cost across each home, lowering the average cost compared to a single house on a full section.

While homes in expensive suburbs won’t suddenly be “cheap,” more choices such as townhouses and apartments will offer more options at different price points.

Locations near jobs, shops and transport are more desirable, which drives up demand and land values. Allowing for more housing choices in these locations increases choice and competition in the market, helping to slow price growth and improve affordability.

Myth: The new plan will add millions more people.
Fact:  Auckland is not planning for millions more people

The council’s projections show population growth of about 600,000 people is expected over the next 30 years (to around 2.3 million in total).

The capacity for two million homes is a requirement of central government and is about planning for long term demand, not the actual demand.

Myth: The draft plan forces billions in new infrastructure immediately.
Fact: Infrastructure is delivered gradually, in step with growth

Homes are built gradually, and infrastructure upgrades happen in step with demand.

The draft plan doesn’t require new infrastructure to be built right away, and it doesn’t require infrastructure for two million homes. 

It provides for where future growth could go within the urban area and what can be built over the long-term, based on market demand.

Myth: Council is forcing more housing within the city because it doesn’t want greenfield development.
Fact: Auckland’s growth balances both urban and greenfield development

Aucklanders support focusing growth in existing urban areas with 66 per cent backing this through consultation on the Future Development Strategy, and 74 per cent supported more housing near jobs, shops and services.

Overall, 82 percent of new homes are built in existing urban areas, showing market demand is strongest near jobs, shops, public transport, and existing infrastructure.

Growth in greenfield areas also remains an important part of the council’s overall strategy for Auckland’s growth and for making sure people have housing choices. However, Council wants to avoid new homes in places without the necessary infrastructure and services.

Since 2016, several thousand hectares of greenfield land have been rezoned for housing. A further 9500 hectares of greenfield land is already identified in the Auckland Unitary Plan for future urban development over the decades to come, to be sequenced with the delivery of infrastructure like roads and water pipes.

Expanding at the city fringes is not cheap providing transport infrastructure alone for greenfield areas earmarked for future development could cost more than $80 billion.