14 Nov Medium Density Residential Standards
From August 2022, greater opportunity for property development was unlocked.
In December 2021, the NZ Government passed the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021; this subsequently resulted in most Tier 1 territorial authorities notifying residents of upcoming Plan Changes to their District or Unitary Plans.
Plan changes were introduced by way of Plan Change 78 (Intensification), which updated the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) in the Auckland region, and permitting the rezoning of selected areas, including some areas which were previously single house zones to become multiple house zones, thus opening up additional development opportunities.
At present, until the Plan Change has completed the notification process, which is anticipated to be finalised in March 2024, the use of the MDRS is limited to up to 3 dwellings on a property where the property is not subject to any qualifying matters, ie. flooding, heritage or infrastructure constraints.
The new MDRS provides greater flexibility in regard to matters such as building height, height in relation to boundary, yard, landscape area, and outdoor living space.
For development of 4 or more dwellings, the current MDRS does not apply until the Plan Change becomes operative.
If you consider your property may have an opportunity to utilise these changes, then please complete the Contact Form on our Contact Us page, and one of our staff will review your property to assess if it can be further developed.
We would recommend you also review our recently updated Subdivision Guide booklet, which provides a summary of how the subdivision process works.
