Plan Change 33 - Enabling housing supply

The housing rules are changing.

The Government is making some changes to housing rules that will change what you can do on your property. Your neighbourhood may change too, over time. In a nutshell, people will be able to build more on their residential sections without needing sign-off from council, or approval from neighbours.

Like all major cities, we’re in the thick of a housing crisis. We’re short of homes, and there’s little choice in the type and size of dwellings we can live in. To help address these issues, Tauranga needs to grow up as well as out, and we’ve been given strict direction from the Government to enable this.

Through the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021, we’ve been instructed to amend the rules in our city plan so that we:

• insert a set of Medium Density Residential Standards into our relevant residential zones
• allow people to build up to three dwellings of up to three storeys on most sections in residential zones, without needing to obtain a resource consent
• enable higher density housing with more building height within and around the city centre, and other identified commercial centres across the city and close to public transport.

This means it will be easier for homeowners looking to build or expand, and that people will have access to more types of houses. It also means there will be more multi-storey buildings popping up around our neighbourhoods and city, over time – which will gradually change where and how we live.

Factsheet – Enabling Housing Supply (2.7mb pdf)

What are the proposed changes?

Change will happen over time

Visible change in Tauranga through this plan change would not happen all at once. It would happen over time as development occurs across the city due to market demand, and as people decide to redevelop their sections in existing residential areas. 

Change is already happening in and around our city centre and along the Te Papa peninsula, and this is where you will first see our urban transformation in play. 

In such areas, gradual change could happen like this:

Enabling housing supply community presentation, 30 August 2022

What is the city plan and a plan change?

City Plan and plan change information

Document library

Public Notice - 25 November 2022
Public Notice - 20 August 2022 
Factsheet – Enabling Housing Supply (2.7mb pdf)
Plan change 33 - key documents

Concept Drawing: A neighbourhood changing over time (4.5mb pdf)

Remember, what you do with your house or land is up to you – but the proposed changes could open up significant opportunity for our community and our city over time.