Rt Hon Winston Peters
Acting Prime Minister
Hon Chris Bishop
Minister for RMA Reform
Minister of Housing
The Government has today announced that it is making it easier for people to build granny flats, Acting Prime Minister
Winston Peters and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop say.
“Making it easier to build granny flats will make it more affordable for families to live the way that suits them best,”
Mr Peters says.
“Over a quarter of households that do not own their home spend more than 40 per cent of their income on housing. High
housing costs have a greater impact on Māori, Pasifika, and people with disabilities, as well as seniors – so unlocking
the space in the backyards of family members opens the door to new ways of living.
“We know granny flats are a great option for seniors, but they’re also increasingly popular with other families such as
those who want homes where their university-age children can live at home but maintain some privacy and independence, or
families who want to provide extra support to a loved one.
“The National-NZ First Coalition Agreement commits the government to amending the Building Act and the resource consent
system to make it easier to build granny flats or other small structures up to 60m2 and today’s announcement is the
first step to deliver that.”
“Today’s announcement fits within the government’s wider package of work to streamline the building consent system and
address the housing crisis through our ‘Going for Housing Growth’ agenda,” Mr Bishop says.
“The government is publishing a discussion document today with proposed changes to the Building Act and the resource
management system so we can get the details right. Our proposed legislative amendments include coordinated changes
across the building and resource management systems.
“Many district plans already allow granny flats without resource consent, but there’s a lack of consistency and
different standards across the country. We’re proposing a National Environmental Standard (NES) to require all councils
to permit a granny flat on sites in rural and residential zones without resource consent. An NES means changes can come
into force quickly.
The discussion document proposes that a new schedule is added to the Building Act 2004 to provide for simple standalone
houses up to 60 square metres in size. The building system proposals in the discussion document released today include:the conditions and criteria for these homes to be exempt from a building consentassessment of the associated short and long-term benefits, costs and riskssufficiency of occupational licensing requirements to ensure all building work will meet the building codepotential barriers to the uptake of the proposed exemptiontime and money savings compared to the status quoadditional or alternative ideas to the proposed options.
“Removing the regulatory red tape will not only speed up the build process, it is also estimated to save up to $6,500
just in the standard building and resource consenting fees per build, not to mention all the savings in time and
resource,” Mr Bishop says.
“There will be safeguards to ensure these granny flats continue to meet New Zealanders’ expectations for building
performance and quality, and appropriately manage environmental effects. We want these to be safe, healthy and durable
homes.
“We want to hear from everyone who has constructive suggestions that will help us ensure we get the policy right.”
Final policy decisions will be made later this year, with the legislative changes expected to be in place from mid-2025.
The consultation opens on Monday 17 June and submissions can be received until 5pm Monday 12 August 2024. The public can
provide feedback online or by emailing grannyflats@mbie.govt.nz
Note:
The discussion document can be found here: mbie.govt.nz/grannyflats