Inclusionary Housing Policy Recommendations from CHA
Four years ago Community Housing Aotearoa published Inclusionary Housing a path forward in Aotearoa New Zealand, our third paper exploring the potential of this planning tool to improve housing outcomes.
We hoped to influence the Government of the day to enable Inclusionary Housing in the proposed Resource Management Act reform legislation — without success. With the change of government and repeal of the prior Government's Bills we are now awaiting new RMA legislation and another opportunity to adopt this proven tool.
We hope this edition of Insight stimulates a serious debate about Inclusionary Housing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Affordable, healthy homes are at the heart of strong communities. Like clean water, like hospitals, like transport — they are essential infrastructure in the lives of our people. Yet, they are missing in our housing system. We have the opportunity to take one of many steps necessary to change that. The following are key actions and policy recommendations for implementing Inclusionary Housing / Inclusionary Zoning, in New Zealand. Let's be bold and adopt them.
These actions, supported by political will and stakeholder collaboration, can help scale Inclusionary Housing across Aotearoa New Zealand and positively contribute to improving housing affordability. The potential of Inclusionary Housing to make positive change for our communities is clear. It is working in Queenstown Lakes. It is working in the US and the UK. As Mark Davey noted, if we are not trialling and testing new approaches how can we know what works?
We are lucky to have clear evidence of the elements which make this work locally and internationally. We have a roadmap to follow. It is time to make the journey.
#1 National legislation and frameworks
Establish clear national legislation to provide legal certainty and enable local councils to implement Inclusionary Housing without facing individual legal challenges.
This should include clear guidelines for housing needs assessments, feasibility studies, and programme regulations. The lack of national enablement is a clear brake on adoption.
#2 Local adaptation
Allow flexibility for local councils to tailor Inclusionary Housing policies to their specific community needs, ensuring that housing typologies and affordability targets align with local demographics and economic conditions.
We know that housing needs vary across Aotearoa, but Inclusionary Housing is proven to be flexible enough to meet those varied needs.
#3 Community Housing Providers involvement
Involving CHPs as central players in the design and implementation of Inclusionary Housing programmes is crucial.
CHPs can ensure long-term retention of affordable housing and manage units to prevent speculation and maintain affordability.
#4 Value capture mechanisms
Implement policies to capture a portion of the value uplift created by public investments, such as rezoning or infrastructure development, and redirect it toward affordable housing.
This could include land contributions, financial contributions, or on-site affordable housing requirements.
#5 Developer incentives
As noted in the success of Aspen and London, developers should be engaged and treated as partners in meeting community needs. Balance mandates with incentives to encourage developer participation.
Options include development contribution offsets, streamlined approval processes, or other regulatory relief for compliant projects.
#6 Perpetual affordability models
Ensure long-term retention of affordable housing through mechanisms like community land trusts, leasehold arrangements, or perpetual affordability requirements.
This prevents affordable housing from becoming a one-time windfall for initial buyers, which was one contributing factor identified by Dr Michael Rehm in Auckland's failed experiment. His observation that we'd have 20,000 affordable homes today if we had got that right in 2016 demonstrates the importance of acting now.
#7 Mixed-tenure communities
Design policies to promote mixed-tenure developments that integrate affordable housing with market-rate housing, fostering social cohesion and sustainable communities.
Any offsite provision should be at the discretion of the Council rather than the developer.
#8 Policy certainty and transparency
Provide developers with clear, upfront policy requirements and ensure transparency in eligibility criteria, affordability standards, and the use of land or financial contributions.
Apply the requirements consistently and fairly, ensuring everyone is playing by the same rules. Develop standardised documents and procedures for the transfer of the contributions and retention mechanisms to ease implementation and foster trust.
#9 Collaboration across sectors
Foster collaboration amongst local councils, CHPs, developers, iwi, and other stakeholders to align interests and ensure effective implementation.
Claire Dickinson described the importance of building partnerships to deliver better outcomes under the UK's Section 106 legislation. The Waikato Community Lands Trust's co-chairs reiterated the importance of this in their local context.
#10 Treat affordable housing as infrastructure
Housing should be planned like roads or parks as essential community infrastructure rather than solely an investment asset.
Ensure the health of a community by explaining that Inclusionary Housing is a necessary tool to address housing affordability.
#11 Monitoring and evaluation
Establish systems to monitor the outcomes of Inclusionary Housing programmes, ensuring they meet affordability targets and community needs over time.
Communities are dynamic and demographic and economic changes over time require an active process to adjust programmes to respond.
