Hon Chris Bishop
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform
Hon Chris Penk
Minister for Building and Construction

Nearly 2,000 submissions have been received on the Government’s proposals aimed at making it easier to build a granny flat of up to 60 square metres without a resource or building consent, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk say.

“This is the highest number of submissions we’ve received for a building and construction consultation, more than twice the previous highest number of around 800 submissions,” Mr Penk says.

“It is fantastic to see such a high level of engagement, especially from homeowners and those who work in the building and construction industry, with these groups representing around two-thirds of the total number of responses,” Mr Bishop says.

Mr Bishop and Mr Penk have released the summary of submissions on the proposals, which are part of the National-NZ First Coalition Agreement. Consultation ran from June to August this year.

“A common theme from homeowners and those who work in the building and construction industry is that that existing council and regulatory processes are a barrier to building and are simply too onerous,” Mr Bishop says.

“The Government agrees, and our granny flat proposals sit within broader government work to unlock land for housing, fix infrastructure funding constraints, and reduce red tape in building and construction.

“Our ambition is to move towards a more enabling system that retains important checks and balances but lifts the handbrake on much needed growth.”

“The proposal echoes other moves to adopt a more ‘risk-based’ consenting regime, where low-risk building work is not subject to the same arduous consenting process,” Mr Penk says.

“A number of submitters wanted us to go even further and include extensions, tiny homes, land without an existing house on it and enable larger or more than one granny flat to be built on a single property, particularly to support papakāinga housing. This theme came through in submissions from iwi and hapū, who recognised the social and economic benefits for Māori communities from the policy.

“It’s great to see such interest in liberalising our planning rules to make it easier to build. The government will be considering these suggestions as part of the next phase of policy design.

“55 per cent of submitters felt there would be some form of financial savings from the Building Act proposals – with 19 per cent of submitters saying there would be financial savings of $15,000 or higher, and 15 per cent saying between $3,000 – $15,000.

“We are grateful to everyone who submitted on the proposals, including those who made suggestions on how to improve the workability of the policies.

“The next step will be integrating the feedback into the detailed policy design. As part of this we will consider submitters feedback that they want risks around building failure and environmental implications, especially from natural hazards, to be managed.

“Ensuring good consumer protections is central to this proposal. Kiwis need confidence in the safety and quality of the built environment, but it’s possible to do this while also making it faster and more affordable to build.”

The Government expects to introduce legislation to amend the Building Act 2004 next year, and new National Environmental Standards for granny flats are expected to come into effect in 2025.

Notes:

• A summary of submissions can be found here: www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/grannyflats
• Consultation ran from 17 June to 12 August 2024 and received a total of 1,970 submissions

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