Medium-density housing #11: Resource consent issues (May 2020)

There is a common view that council red tape is holding up medium density housing (MDH) in New Zealand. Research involving five councils and 24 designers, developers and planners found a resource consenting process that worked well in many cases but takes much longer than anticipated in others. Developers are looking for more certainty in the process while councils are facing issues around resources, risk and retention of experienced staff.