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77G: Duty of specified territorial authorities to incorporate MDRS and give effect to policy 3 or 5 in residential zones
or “Big cities must change their rules to allow more homes to be built in neighbourhoods.”
You could also call this:

“Councils can change the rules to allow more housing to be built than what the law says.”

You can make changes to the rules in Schedule 3A to allow for more building. This means you can:

  1. Remove one or more of the building rules found in Part 2 of Schedule 3A.

  2. Create new rules that deal with the same things as the building rules in Part 2 of Schedule 3A, but these new rules can be more relaxed.

When we say ‘more relaxed’, we mean the new rule lets you do something that the original rule wouldn’t allow.

If you make these changes, you’re still following the rules in section 77G(1).

You can choose not to use some of the building rules from Part 2 of Schedule 3A in your district plan. But if you do this, you can’t make new rules about the same things in your district plan.

If you do add any of these building rules to your district plan, they don’t start working right away when you announce your plan. This is different from what section 86B usually says about new rules.

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Next up: 77I: Qualifying matters in applying medium density residential standards and policy 3 to relevant residential zones

or “Special reasons why councils can limit building heights and density in some areas”
Next

Part 5 Standards, policy statements, and plans
Local authority policy statements and plans: Intensification requirements in residential zones

77HRequirements in Schedule 3A may be modified to enable greater development

  1. In addition to giving effect to policy 3 or policy 5, a specified territorial authority may enable a greater level of development than provided for by the MDRS by—

  2. omitting 1 or more of the density standards set out in Part 2 of Schedule 3A:
    1. including rules that regulate the same effect as a density standard set out in Part 2 of Schedule 3A, but that are more lenient than provided for by the MDRS.

      1. To avoid doubt, more lenient means the rule (including a requirement, condition, or permission) permits an activity that the MDRS would restrict.

      2. A specified territorial authority is considered to have met its obligations under section 77G(1) by acting in accordance with subsection (1) of this section.

      3. A specified territorial authority may choose not to incorporate 1 or more density standards set out in Part 2 of Schedule 3A into its district plan, but, in that case, the authority may not (in its district plan) regulate the same effect as the density standard.

      4. To avoid doubt, if a density standard is incorporated into a specified territorial authority’s district plan under subsection (1), the density standard does not have immediate legal effect under section 86B when an IPI incorporating the density standard is notified.

      Notes
      • Section 77H: inserted, on , by section 9 of the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 59).