Going gangbusters on granny flats

In a discussion document released on Monday the Government proposes to remove building and resource consent requirements for “granny flats”, being small residential structures up to 60m2 floor area. The changes are aimed at increasing affordable housing stock, particularly for seniors and young families, through enabling some development of the family back yard. The move delivers on a coalition agreement between NZ First and National, and has the backing of Labour. In this article, we take a look at the detail of the proposal.

District and city plans prepared under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) control the development of minor units. Rules differ across the country; in some places the units may be permitted without a consent being required, in others they may be subject to a resource consent to assess and minimise environmental effects (such as effects on neighbourhood or rural character and amenity). Minor unit construction is also controlled by the Building Act 2004 and the building consent process, to ensure units are safe, healthy and durable structures.

The discussion document proposes changes across the RMA, Building Act and Local Government Act 2002, unlike the previous Enabling Housing legislation which targeted  resource consenting requirements only (by allowing three houses per site). The Government’s preferred option is to create a new National Environmental Standard (NES) under the RMA, which would apply one set of rules nationally for minor unit development. The Government also proposes to add an exemption to the Building Act to remove building consent requirements for some units.

In order to be eligible for the proposed resource and building consent exemptions, the minor unit would need to:

• Be less than 60m2 net floor area (as measured from enclosing wall to wall);
• Be less than one story in height (being a floor level up to 1m, and a max height of 4m above the floor level);
• Comply with proposed new building coverage, impervious surface area, and setback rules (options for these are being consulted on);
• Be located within a residential or rural zone (a question for discussion is whether other zones, such as mixed use zones and Māori purpose zones, should be included)
• Designed and built to comply with the building code and Acceptable Solutions (which concern matters such as weather tightness and wind zones);
• Be a new, standalone detached dwelling, and limited to one unit per principal dwelling on the same site;
• Be notified to council during the planning stage and once completed. Administration fees and infringement for non-compliance with notification requirements are proposed to apply.

An NES would override existing plan provisions controlling minor units which typically trigger a resource consent. The discussion document clarifies that the minor units policy is not intended to cover the following matters:

• Subdivision of the unit from the principal dwelling, which will continue to be controlled under the existing plan rules;
• Matters of national importance under s6 RMA (including natural hazards and outstanding landscapes), with existing plan overlays requiring resource consent  continuing to apply;
• Other uses of the minor unit, with existing activity rules (such as those controlling childcare centres and visitor accommodation / Air BnB) to continue to apply;
• Regional planning matters, including those relating to onsite wastewater.

Funding of infrastructure through financial or development contributions is generally triggered through the consent processes. A projected shortfall in infrastructure planning and funding arising from the proposed removal of this trigger is noted as being a key risk. This has also been a key concern when implementing the recent Enabling Housing legislation due to the risk that infrastructure in some existing residential areas will be unable to cope with additional people living there. The discussion document advises that broader work on infrastructure funding is being considered as part of the Government’s Going for Housing Growth work programme, and more information will be available when decisions on that programme are made.

Feedback on the proposals is open until 12 August 2024 with the discussion document posing 29 questions to guide that feedback.  Final policy decisions are expected later in 2024 and legislative changes in place by mid-2025. You can read the discussion document for minor units here. If you have any questions about what this means for you or your organisation, please get in touch with one of our Resource Management team.

Latest Update: 19 June 2024