Granny flat change welcomed by housing providers and opposition

Proposed law changes which would remove the need for building consents on homes under 60 square metres in certain areas are being met with enthusiasm from housing providers and the opposition.

The coalition government announced the new policy on Monday, pitched as a way to make it easier to build granny flats and increase the supply of affordable homes.

It follows a commitment in the National-NZ First coalition agreement, which requires the government to "amend the Building Act and the resource consent system to make it easier to build granny flats or other small structures up to 60 square metres, requiring only an engineer's report".

But the discussion document released as part of the announcement revealed the requirement for an engineer's report was being abandoned, as it could mean additional costs and engineering services.

Opposition party Labour is backing the proposal - but housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said he was pleased the homes would still have to comply with the building code.

"At the end of the day we need as many houses as possible in this country if we're going to address the housing crisis," he said.

"We've been critical of the government taking $1.5 billion out of the housing budget and dropping the funding for public houses, that was a dumb idea, but this one seems like it might be a good one."

However, he said he was worried granny flats might end up being jammed into backyards too close to the main building without enough room for storm water to escape.

"We've seen the impact severe weather can have on urban areas like Auckland, so we need to make sure that, in the spirit of trying to increase housing supply, we don't loosen standards."

AUT professor of construction John Tookey said the changes would save a few thousand dollars in the building process and would generally be a positive move for housing supply.

But he agreed with concerns around water runoff, and warned there needed to be recognition that increasing housing densification would put more pressure on infrastructure and services, like drinking water, sewage, roads, schools and GPs.

"There's going to have to be some sort of consideration of minor issues such as stormwater run-off, sewage requirements, water provision," he said.

"If we're going to get an extra couple of hundred thousand people in Auckland, then we've got a couple of hundred thousand people of additional water consumption that we're going to have to supply."

Tookey said without building consents, it would be harder for authorities to keep tabs on how many people were needing these services and resources.

He said its ability to make a difference to housing supply was, in his opinion, limited.

"I'm not going to hold my breath with regard to this becoming a massive exercise in generating additional housing," he said.

While it would make it cheaper for certain individuals by a few thousand dollars, "there is a requirement to sensible about its application".

But Willie Te Aho, strategic advisor to iwi housing provider Toitū Tairāwhiti Housing in Gisborne, said homes did not have to make a real difference.

"The reality is a lot of these will be pre-built," he said. "Not just the sixty square metres - people can live in 30 square metres."

He said Toitū Tairāwhiti - and likely others - could have houses ready to go when the law change came into effect a few months down the line, with a 60-square-metre home taking two to three months to build.

He said the rule changes would extend and make permanent a rule change which had already taken place in parts of Gisborne and Hawke's Bay post-Cyclone Gabrielle, which removed the need for consents in certain areas to rehouse displaces families.

He said Toitū Tairāwhiti had already moved 20 to 25 percent of its people back into houses, thanks in part to the relaxed rules.

Oraruwharo Ahu Whenua Trust chair Ivan Hauraki was currently building a papakāinga for his whānau, which has eight small homes with some communal facilities.

"I built our papakāinga on rural zoned land and if I'd applied by the rule there I would have only been allowed to put three houses on that nine and a half hectares but we now, and by August, we'll have 15 houses on 2 hectares."

He had previously built 60 square metre homes which were two bedrooms, open plan and housed two elderly people.

They were very comfortable, he said.

"In the whole scheme of things it's not only about the homes, though that is a big part of it, it's about the wellbeing of the people too and that's what we're providing alongside brand new warm and comfortable homes."

Hauraki welcomed the proposal.

"I think there's definitely the opportunity for building on Māori freehold land. I think there's always been this mindset that why are people told that they can or cannot build on their land, and that's where the resource consent process is...it's all about the cost and it's all about the time so when you can cut both those down, you're starting to get somewhere."