Parliament has gone into urgency to pass legislation allowing Special Housing Areas to be created for another three years.
Under the current law, the power to establish them lapses on 16 September.
Building projects in areas designated for special housing have advantages such as fast-tracked consenting.
The government said it knew it would have to extend the time period, but could not do so until after the release of Auckland's Unitary Plan - thus the need for urgency.
It said if the bill was not passed, Resource Management Act provisions would apply to developers, which could delay house building by two to five years.