New plans to solve housing crisis

Rapid population growth combined with a land and housing shortage have contributed to a 20 per cent jump in Auckland house prices in the year to May. Photo / File

Think tank urges compulsory acquisition as part of 'more aggressive approach' for Auckland.

Compulsory acquisition of land by an urban development authority for large-scale developments is the latest idea to tackle Auckland's housing crisis.

Other ideas include abandoning minimum apartment sizes, mandatory balconies for apartments and minimum parking requirements.

Auckland Council is moving away from the days of tiny "shoebox" apartments with minimum sizes of 30sq m for studio apartments in the city centre and 40sq m outside the CBD in a proposed new rulebook for the Super City.

A draft report by the Productivity Commission, titled Using Land for Housing, has also recommended the Government start paying rates on Crown land and drop its opposition for tolls and congestion charges on existing roads to fund new assets.

Commission chairman Murray Sherwin said a more aggressive approach was needed to ensure the issue of land and housing supply was addressed, and to provide infrastructure.

Rapid population growth combined with a land and housing shortage have contributed to a 20 per cent jump in Auckland house prices in the year to May to a record median of $749,000.

Mr Sherwin said the largest housing development in Auckland in recent years at Hobsonville would eventually deliver 3000 homes.

"But Auckland has a current shortage of 32,000 dwellings, and that number is going to keep growing. Auckland needs the equivalent of another 11 Hobsonvilles on the ground right now, and a further four developments that size each year to keep up with demand." The commission, an independent Crown entity, has made 38 recommendations in the report for feedback by August 4.

Finance Minister Bill English said the report would help inform the Government's next steps in its housing programme, but would not commit yet to any changes.

He said the idea of an urban development agency was "a bit of a stretch", but the Government was keen to find ways to address the issues of land-banking and make it easier to build apartments.

"It's all very well having really nice-looking $800,000 or $900,000 apartments but most people can't afford them. And if we want more people in the city we have to have more affordable apartments."

He was less keen on the idea of road tolls or congestion charges.

Labour's housing spokesman Phil Twyford said he supported the proposal for a large urban development authority which could drive big development projects, but was wary of giving it compulsory acquisition powers.

"It's the kind of hands-on role for Government in encouraging private sector-funding urban development that Labour's been calling for for the last few years."

Auckland Mayor Len Brown said the report "hits the mark on housing" and highlighted work already being done to set up a new body called Development Auckland and proposed motorway tolls.

Development Auckland - a merger of Waterfront Auckland and the council's property arm - comes into being on September 1 to play a stronger role in large-scale housing developments in conjunction with the private sector.

Click here to read the report.