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The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, has told Christchurch City Council it has until the end of this year to make final decisions about applying greater housing density rules across much of the city.

The Minister has formally declined granting an extension to the Council’s current 12 December 2025 deadline for the remainder of its Housing and Business Choice Plan Change (Plan Change 14) decisions.  

The Council had sought an extension until 30 September 2026 in light of the Government’s proposed Bill to modify the Resource Management Act (RMA) to allow councils to withdraw undecided parts of Intensification Planning Instruments such as Plan Change 14. That Bill is expected to become law in August.  

Mayor Phil Mauger says the Minister’s reply to the Council is disappointing.

“An extension from the Minister would’ve meant more time to weigh up whether we want to opt out of further housing intensification and, if so, to go through the proper steps to decide as a council and to apply for that with the Government.

“As it stands now, our ability to do that by December is up in the air, and we’ll need to await further information from the Government’s Select Committee on the Bill next month to figure out if we can still make an informed decision in time about whether or not to proceed with parts of Plan Change 14.”

A staff report prepared for Councillors last month said the Council would not be able to evaluate its options until the modified RMA came into effect. Once in effect, the process to consider options, meet any evaluative requirements and seek the approval of the Minister was certain to push beyond the current 12 December 2025 deadline, it said.

To date, the Council has only made decisions on Plan Change 14 that relate to policies 3 and 4 of the Government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD), which require greater building development within and around the central city, suburban commercial centres, and planned high-frequency and high-capacity public transport routes.

In March last year, Minister Chris Bishop approved the Council’s request for a time extension to parts of Plan Change 14, specifically those that relate to the Government’s Medium-Density Residential Standards (MDRS) being applied beyond areas defined in the NPS-UD, meaning the Council is yet to decide what housing intensification will look like for the remainder of the city.

MDRS was proposed to apply across all urban Christchurch, but the opt-out process proposed by the Government may allow the Council to limit the extent of where it applies.

Under MDRS, up to three dwellings of up to three storeys can be developed on a property without needing to apply for a resource consent if all other rules have been met.   

Read the Minister’s letter.