We’re proposing stronger new rules for proposals to build new homes in high-risk areas for flooding, landslides, coastal erosion, and coastal inundation.  

By law, these rules will apply from 3 November 2025, but you can still share your views on these changes by making a submission.

The rules aim to make homes and buildings more resilient and to limit new homes being built in Auckland’s most vulnerable areas. 

This will give the council stronger powers to decide whether development can go ahead in areas affected by natural hazards – including what and how much development is appropriate.

Any new development should only happen if the natural hazard risk is low enough to be considered safe or manageable, and it must not make the situation worse for others around it. 

The changes proposed are:

• More restrictive consenting requirements for building in high-risk areas.

• ‘Down-zoning’ to mostly the single house zone in the worst-affected areas to limit housing density and people’s exposure to hazards.

• Buildings to cope with worse weather where future homes and subdivisions must meet higher standards to cope with floods, rising sea levels, and landslides.

• Stricter risk assessments for building in areas impacted by natural hazards, raising the bar that must be met for an activity to be approved. This applies regardless of what zoning exists in the area affected by natural hazards.

• Updated mapping so Aucklanders have a current up-to-date view of the natural hazards that could impact their area.

• Protecting natural systems, so floodplains and overland flow paths will be protected from being built over. 

Which areas will see changes to deal with natural hazards?

There are locations across Auckland that are impacted by natural hazards like flooding, coastal erosion and coastal inundation, particularly in valleys, and around the coast.

What if my property is impacted by natural hazards?

Any development in a hazard risk area must go through a strict risk assessment before it is considered for approval. This may change what is allowed to be built in some places regardless of the type of housing or business enabled.

In many cases, a ‘non-complying’ activity status will be applied to assess consent applications for development sensitive to hazards (like homes or schools) in high-risk areas.

It will be harder to get permission to build where there is more than a low-level risk from flooding or other natural hazards. 

We’re enabling more homes around major town centres and public transport where people can more easily reach jobs, shops, and community services.

By law, the council must enable at least six storey apartment buildings and terrace housing within walking distance of the city centre, major town centres (called metropolitan centres), and around rapid transit stops – train stations and stops on the Northern and Eastern Busway.

These walking distances are called ‘walkable catchments’.

What we’re proposing

The proposed change includes walkable catchments of:

• Around 15-minutes walk (about 1,200 metres) to the city centre.

• Around 10-minutes walk (about 800 metres) from train stations, Northern and Eastern Busway stops, and the metropolitan centres of Newmarket, Manukau, New Lynn, Sylvia Park, Botany, Papakura, Takapuna, Henderson, Albany, Westgate, Drury.

These walking distances reflect actual walking routes people use and consider local conditions like steep hills, and barriers like motorways or crossing major roads.

Where are walkable catchments located?

There are 66 walkable catchments across the Auckland.

Each one enables terrace housing and apartment buildings, with heights of up to around 15 storeys, 10 storeys or 6 storeys but a mix of different housing types can still be built.

This is based on the location, the amount of shops, services or community facilities, and how easy it is to reach places like shops and jobs by public transport, walking or cycling.

It includes the legal requirement for Auckland Council to allow for building heights of at least 10 or 15 storeys in walkable catchments around five Western Line train stations: 

• Mangawhau (Mt Eden) Train Station – 15 storeys (50m) 

• Kingsland Train Station – 15 storeys (50m) 

• Morningside Train Station – 15 storeys (50m) 

• Baldwin Train Station – 10 storeys (34.5m) 

• Mt Albert Train Station – 10 storeys (34.5m) 

What are metropolitan centres?

Auckland’s metropolitan centres are the largest urban centres after the city centre.

They are major destinations for shopping, business, entertainment, employment, education, and community services.

In the future, these centres are expected to grow significantly as major places to live and work.

Why it matters for how Auckland grows?

Plan Change 120 provides opportunities for homes and businesses where people can live close to shops, jobs, and everyday services, or walk to work or fast, frequent public transport.

It could mean more housing and transport choice, shorter commutes, and better value from the infrastructure all Aucklanders have paid for.

Not every building needs to be 10 or 15 storeys. There will still be a mix of housing types and building heights, reflecting Aucklanders’ different needs and choices.

We’re proposing to allow more housing choices along some of Auckland’s frequent bus routes, so more people can live near reliable public transport.

Twenty-four ‘corridors’ on Auckland’s frequent transport network (main roads with frequent bus routes) will allow for more apartments and terrace housing — generally around 200 metres back from the road (or approximately one block deep).

This provides more opportunities to live near frequent buses along routes that connect neighbourhoods, major town centres, and other transport hubs. These are locations where people can get frequent public transport services to where they need to go quickly and easily.

Apartments and terrace houses can already be built at some properties along these roads under the planning rules Auckland has now. The proposed changes extend this to more properties and further back from the road, with rules that allow for buildings generally up to six storeys. 

The 24 roads are mainly in the Central Isthmus, North Shore (around Birkenhead, Northcote and Takapuna) and between Howick and Manukau and New Lynn and Henderson. 

Auckland Council is proposing to allow more homes around Auckland’s smaller suburban centres, so more people can live close to everyday shops and services.

By law, we must allow for more homes around suburban centres in line with the amount of shops, businesses, services, and community facilities each one provides. This will mean more townhouses, apartments, and terrace housing generally up to six storeys.

These suburban centres are spread across Auckland. They include:

Local centres - these are smaller shopping areas that serve nearby neighbourhoods. They often have local shops, offices, cafés, or community services. They are places like Blockhouse Bay, Grey Lynn and Mairangi Bay.  

There are 22 Local Centres where more homes are proposed within around 200 metres.

Town centres - are typically located on main roads and have good access to public transport. These are places where lots of people go to shop, work, or use community services and usually have supermarkets and services like doctors or libraries. They include places like St Lukes, Northcote, and Onehunga. 

There are 35 Town Centres where more homes are proposed within around 400 metres.   

Why these distances?

The distances are based on how big each suburban centre is and how easy it is for people to get there by walking, cycling, or public transport, making it easier for people to live nearby and walk to or travel to schools, parks, and workplaces.

Some of these suburban centres already have apartments and terrace houses enabled around them under the planning rules Auckland has now.

Not every location is suitable for taller buildings, some areas will continue to have lower height limits.

The government has provided for certain exemptions for its required building heights and housing density to be reduced, called ‘qualifying matters.’

These can be applied in locations where taller buildings may not be suitable, for example, avoiding places at risk from natural hazards.

For these ‘qualifying matters’ to apply there needs to be strong evidence to prove why building heights and density should be limited.

This doesn’t stop development entirely, instead, it simply limits the height or density enough to ensure key features are preserved or not compromised by taller buildings.

Some of these ‘qualifying matters’ are required by law, while others can be proposed by the council.