Special Housing Areas

The Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas Act (the Act) was introduced in 2013.  The purpose of the legislation is to enhance housing affordability by facilitating an increase in land and housing supply in certain regions or districts listed in Schedule 1 of the Act, that have been identified as having housing supply and affordability issues.  Selwyn District was added to Schedule 1 of the Act in 2015.

In simple terms the Housing Accord is an agreement between a Territorial Authority and Central Government which sets out how the purpose of the Act will be achieved, and identifies as targets and criteria for special housing areas as a first step.

Once a Housing Accord is entered into, the next step is for special housing areas to be identified through an order in council.  Application for complying development areas could be made and assessed against the Housing Accord’s criteria.

The process:

1. Minister identifies district with significant housing affordability and Land supply issues
2. Order in Council adds district to Schedule 1 of the Act
3. Minister negotiates housing accord with council
4. Council proposes special housing areas
5. Minister assesses council's proposal
6. Order in Council declares special housing area
7. More permissive and fast-tracked consent processes can be used

Selwyn District Council signed a Housing Accord with Government in December of 2015.

Resolutions as Passed by Council

Adopted 9 December 2015
Moved: Councillor Lyall / Seconded: Councillor Miller
Council Report 27-11-2015 [PDF, 10231 KB]

'That the Council

Approves the areas known as:

i    South Faringdon legally described Lot 1 DP327430, Lot 2 DP327430, Lot 1 DP424089, Lot 2 DP424089, Lot 1 DP75986, Lot 2 DP75986

ii   The Dryden Trust block legally described as Lot 1 DP305373, and

iii  The Dean Geddes block, legally described as Lots 1 and 2 DP411402.

As areas of land that will be recommended to The Minister of Housing to be established as Special Housing Areas pursuant to the Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 conditional on the signing of the Housing Accord by the Mayor of Selwyn District Council and the Minister for Housing.'
CARRIED

Adopted 9 December 2015
Moved: Councillor McEvedy / Seconded: Councillor Lyall
Council Report 4-12-2015 [PDF, 1327 KB]

'That the Council:

a)  Ratifies the Selwyn District Housing accord with the Ministry of Housing for the purposes of increasing housing supply and improving housing affordability in Rolleston by facilitating development of quality housing that meets the needs of the growing population.

b)  Notes the development of the Selwyn Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas Policy that is to be read in conjunction with the Selwyn District Housing Accord.'
CARRIED

Adopted 25 November 2015
Moved: Councillor Miller / Seconded: Councillor Broughton
Council Report 16-11-2015 [PDF, 7981 KB]

'That the Council

a)  Approves entering into a Housing Accord with the Ministry of Housing for the purposes of increasing housing supply and improving housing affordability in Rolleston by facilitating development of quality housing that needs the needs of the growing population.

b)  Provides the CEO with the delegation to make minor amendments to the Housing Accord that occur as a result of discussions with the Minister of Housing.'
CARRIED

Dryden Trust / Dean Geddes Location Summary [PDF, 52 KB]
Faringdon South Location Summary [PDF, 56 KB]
Faringdon South Map 1 [PDF, 254 KB]
Faringdon South Map 2 [PDF, 559 KB]
Overview Map [PDF, 1295 KB]

Order in Council

Order in Council [PDF, 2230 KB] for The Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas (Selwyn District) Order 2016.

Selwyn Housing Accord

The Selwyn Housing Accord [PDF, 1559 KB] between the Selwyn District Council (Council) and the Government is intended to increase land and housing supply in the Selwyn District during the period in which the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act (the Act) applies.

Background

Housing affordability and an adequate supply of housing are key elements to maintaining a well-functioning, dynamic community with a strong economy.  The Selwyn housing market is currently experiencing issues around rapid population growth in Rolleston and reduced availability of readily develop-able residential land.

The 2009 Rolleston Structure Plan identified that Rolleston was expected to grow from a population of 6,800 to approximately 22,000 in 2041 – an average increase of approximately 500 persons or 160 households per year.

Selwyn experienced significant growth as a consequence of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, which resulted in a short term loss of between 12,000 dwellings in the Greater Christchurch area.  As a result, Rolleston experienced the highest population growth in Greater Christchurch between the 2006 and 2013 censuses. Selwyn was the fastest growing territorial authority in New Zealand for 2013/14 and 2014/15.

Due to rapid population growth, much of the land in single ownership has been developed or is nearing the final stages of development.

Potential capacity has been supplemented by way of the Land Use Recovery Plan (LURP), which has created six more growth areas which have a theoretical capacity of 4500 dwellings.  The Selwyn District Plan anticipates the development of all these areas in accordance with Outline Development Plans.  There has been very limited development to date in these areas due to fragmented land ownership, high land values and high numbers of ‘lifestyle’ properties with some owners unwilling to aggregate or sell their land.

While in the fullness of time some of this land may be expected to be developed, it is unlikely in the foreseeable future.  As such, in the next few years there is likely to be a land supply shortage in Rolleston.  This could reduce the affordability of remaining sections in growth areas.

The median multiple in Selwyn (ie the median house price divided by the gross annual median household income) is 5.8 (Census 2013 data).  This figure suggests that home ownership is unaffordable for many residents.  Unaffordable homes contribute to increased pressures on families and communities, on the social housing system, and on Council and Government support.  Further, with proportionately more household income being spent on housing less money is available for investment and spending in other areas of the community and business.

This Accord seeks to contribute to improved affordability by increasing the supply of land in Selwyn, with a focus on Rolleston in particular. It will also ensure that a proportion of new housing supply created is affordable.

The Act provides an opportunity to address these problems by facilitating a streamlined resource consent process. This can be available for suitable landholdings in priority areas.

Purpose

The Selwyn Housing Accord (the Accord) is intended to enable subdivision and development of housing in suitable priority areas.

To ensure rapid progress, the Accord is focused on enabling development of large parcels of land under single ownership or control.

The Accord is also intended to ensure that a suitable proportion of the housing delivered is affordable at first sale by comparison with median sales prices in the district.

The Accord is necessary to enable the Council to identify Special Housing Areas (with more enabling development controls) and provide streamlined resource consent processes within those special housing areas under the Act.

The housing affordability criteria that is set out in the Council's Selwyn Housing Accord and Special Housing Areas and Qualifying Developments Policy [PDF, 204 KB] defined as follows:

• 10% of the total potential yield of the Qualifying Development (QD) is affordable housing.
• If a development has stages, each stage must have 10% affordable housing.
• Affordable housing is the sale price of the allotment at the date the consent is applied for being not more than 75% of the REINZ median value for house sales within Rolleston Township of the Selwyn District for the preceding July, August, and September combined.

As at September 2015 based on the REINZ supplied sales data REINZ advise the median value of house sales within the Rolleston Township is $555,000.00.

As at September 2016 based on the REINZ supplied sales data REINZ advise the median value of house sales within the Rolleston Township is $543,500.00.

As at September 2020 based on the REINZ supplied sales data REINZ advise the median value of house sales within the Rolleston Township is $555,000.00.

As at September 2021 based on the REINZ supplied sales data REINZ advice the median value of house sales within the Rolleston Township is $775,000.00.

‘As at September 2022 based on the REINZ supplied sales data REINZ advise the median value of house sales within the Rolleston Township is $795,000.00.’

If an application for resource consent is lodged on or after 1 October 2022, it is the September 2022 figure that should be used for calculating the affordable housing sale price.

Application & Decisions

Any enquiries, please contact Tim Harris, Environmental Services Manager on 3472 850 or special.housing@selwyn.govt.nz