Housing Minister Chris Bishop has told real estate agents that the government wants to “flood the market” with opportunities for housing development.
It has agreed to a range of changes that would free up land for housing, and, the government hopes, make housing more affordable.
My rough summary of proposal:
- Most cities will be required to have zoned enough land for 30 years of housing demand all the time
- These cities won’t be allowed to determine urban/rural boundaries
- Must intensify, especially around major public transport routes. If they decide not to for character reasons, then equivalent capacity must be opened up in another area
- cafes, dairies, etc (mixed use) must be allowed in residential areas
- appartments not allowed to have minimum floor area or requirement for balcony set by council
- councils already intensifying under a previous agreement (MDRS) will keep this, but if they change it then they have to move to using new rules
Let me know if I’ve got something wrong!
That’s easy to say, but the truth is landlords are absolutely held accountable. The tenancy tribunal is heavily in favour of the tenant, meaning the burden of proof is on the landlord, which is fair enough.
I posted a story here a few days ago about a landlord getting reamed out over dodgy practices actually.
while true, it’s not to the level that government departments are kept to.