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Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers was so frustrated with Auckland Council’s lack of action in solving Auckland’s housing crisis that he has written a book explaining how it should be done.
Cr Sayers’ book, How to Fix Auckland’s Housing Crisis, was released this month after he failed to get Council officers to get the ideas it contains tabled for consideration by the Council’s governing body.
Cr Sayers says Auckland is a “basket case” when it comes to housing affordability and Council is largely to blame.
“The bulk of the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of Auckland Council, and in particular with its zoning rules, it’s desire to monopolise infrastructure – forcing travel into the city for jobs – and its slow and expensive consent processing.”
The book offers four solutions for solving the housing crisis:
1. Remove the rural/urban boundary. Cr Sayers says this is an artificial line drawn around the city. Land on the inside of the boundary is 15 times more expensive than land on the outside. Removing the line would immediately make bare sections more affordable.
2. Cut Council regulatory costs. Cr Sayers says the consenting process is too expensive and takes too long. “Consenting can cost up to $250,000 for a house and people don’t get value for money,” he says.
3. End the Council monopoly on infrastructure. Cr Sayers says Council is determined to maintain a monopoly position on road and water infrastructure. Rather than forcing developers to connect to Auckland Council’s infrastructure, they should have the option of providing their own infrastructure – driving costs down.
4. Revolutionise house insurance. Cr Sayers says home owners should be allowed to take out insurance to cover building quality and protect themselves against such things as leaky homes. This would remove the high costs that Council adds to the price of a new house through its “overly regulatory approach to risk management”.
Cr Sayers says his four-point plan would bring enormous benefits to Rodney.
Homelessness will be less of a problem in the area as house prices and rents come down, and farmers in rural areas who currently can’t subdivide their land would have the opportunity to do so and free up equity.
Cr Sayers says dealing with housing affordability is the single most important moral issue facing Auckland Council.
“Auckland Council is capable of solving the problem independent of central government, but lacks the courage to do so,” he says.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff was approached by Mahurangi Matters for comment on Cr Sayers’ claims, but failed to respond before the paper went to press.
How to Fix Auckland’s Housing Crisis is available from gregsayers.co.nz.
Book Giveaway
Mahurangi Matters has a copy of How to Fix Auckland’s Housing Crisis to give away. To go in the draw, email your contact details to editor@localmatters.co.nz. Put “housing crisis” in the subject line.
