New Zealand is desperately short of houses. We are not short of land, but a broken planning and infrastructure funding system has artificially constrained housing growth, contributing to New Zealand’s status as one of the least affordable housing markets in the world.

National will fix New Zealand’s housing crisis by unlocking land for housing inside and around our cities, building infrastructure, and making sure communities share in the benefits of growth

1) Unlocking land for housing – Councils in major towns and cities will be required to zone land for 30 years’ worth of housing demand immediately. Councils will have more flexibility about where houses are built by being able to opt-out of the Medium Density Residential Zone law, however central government will have reserve powers to ensure councils set aside enough land to meet demand targets.

2) Infrastructure financing tools – The Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) Act will be reformed to reduce red tape for developers to fund infrastructure. Combined with targeted rates to fund greenfield developments, this will remove the need for councils to fund greenfield infrastructure from their balance sheets. Housing growth will also become a priority for transport funding through NZTA.

3) Housing performance incentives for councils – A $1 billion fund for Build-for- Growth incentive payments for councils that deliver more new housing – funded by stopping existing programmes like KiwiBuild.