Rotorua could have Special Housing Accord within a month

Last year, just 121 new homes were consented in Rotorua, compared with 1695 in Tauranga.

Rotorua has been confirmed as eligible for a Special Housing Accord and the Government hopes it will be in place before next month's election.

The Rotorua district has been added to Schedule 1 of the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act (HASHAA) 2013, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith said.

"There is a real will from the Rotorua Lakes Council and the Government to develop a Housing Accord to address increased pressures on the local housing market. The first step to achieving this is adding Rotorua to the HASHAA Schedule."

Cabinet approved the move on Monday and the decision has been formally gazetted today.

"This scheduling recognises the growth pressures on Rotorua. The local economy is doing well and the population is growing at a faster rate than in decades but this is putting pressure on housing prices and availability. The advantage of a Housing Accord is that it gets the council and the Government working together on freeing up more land, growing supply and co-ordinating support for people in housing need.

"Housing Accords have proved successful in increasing supply in places like Selwyn, Auckland, Nelson and Tauranga. They have sped up consenting for new housing developments, supported new social housing initiatives, assisted councils with infrastructure costs and facilitated joint council-Government housing developments."

He said the next step was negotiating a Housing Accord.

"The Government and council officials are well advanced in this work. It is my ambition to conclude a Housing Accord with the Rotorua council prior to the election."

Mayor Steve Chadwick said it was great to have acknowledgement of the challenges Rotorua faced as a result of population growth.

"The accord will open doors for us and today's process is an exciting step towards helping us address increasing housing and roading pressures.

"We'll now continue to progress negotiations around details of the accord so we can get it in place as soon as possible, and we look forward to working with landowners and developers to see how we can help them move forward with their plans."

Rotorua MP Todd McClay said it was an important next step in freeing up more land, addressing sluggish consenting times and building more houses faster.

"Since proposing the Special Housing Accord two months ago, I have been approached by landowners who have as many as 300 sections that could be freed up under a Special Housing Accord.

"This is the sort of growth Rotorua needs as our population has increased over the last two years."

Last year, just 121 new homes were consented in Rotorua, compared with 1695 in Tauranga.

Housing accords are agreed between the Government and councils and create Special Housing Areas with the aim of freeing up land supply.

Special Housing Areas cut down on red tape and speed up the consenting process by enabling a proactive council pre-application process, limited notification and appeals.