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A Selwyn Housing Accord aimed at improving the affordability of housing and availability of land was signed today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Kelvin Coe.

“Following the Canterbury earthquakes, the Selwyn District grew faster than expected, which led to housing pressures and land supply issues. In addition, the Selwyn district has been the fastest growing region in New Zealand for the last eight years and we expect that to continue well into 2018,” Dr Smith says.

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today welcomed the opening of the Hornby Project complex, an initiative being delivered by a consortium of community housing providers to provide a range of affordable housing solutions for low income Christchurch families.

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown today announced three new Special Housing Areas across Wellington.

“The three new SHAs cover around eight hectares of currently underused land in Shelly Bay, Newlands and Newtown and together with the existing Shelly Bay SHA, will provide more than 330 new homes. These additions bring the total SHAs in Wellington to 24, with a total combined capacity of around 2,750 houses,” says Dr Smith.

A Government Bill to require insulation and smoke alarms in all rental properties and to increase enforcement of housing standards received unanimous support in Parliament on its first reading, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith said today.

The Government introduced to Parliament today the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and also released for consultation the associated proposed regulations for insulation and smoke alarms, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith has announced.

“This Bill aims to make homes warmer, drier and safer for the million New Zealanders who live in rental accommodation, without imposing excessive costs,” Dr Smith says.

The latest figures released today by Statistics New Zealand showing the number of building consents in Auckland at an 11-year high have been welcomed by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith, who says strong momentum is underway for Auckland’s new house build rate.

The Auckland Housing Accord is freeing up land faster for housing and helping drive increasing momentum in residential construction, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown said today in releasing the second year monitoring report.

The Government today marked the 500th completed home at Hobsonville Point and the launch of a new precinct at the Auckland housing development with a visit by the Prime Minister and Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

The number of KiwiSaver HomeStart grants for first home buyers has doubled in the second quarterly report published by Housing New Zealand, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

Nine new Special Housing Areas (SHAs) with a potential yield of 1100 new homes in Auckland were announced today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown.

The completion of the 100th house at the Waimahia Inlet housing development in Auckland was welcomed this afternoon by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith, who says the project is symbolic of the Government’s progress on housing.

The decision by a panel of commissioners appointed by Auckland Council to allow new houses to be built on a disused quarry site in Mount Eden has been welcomed today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith has rejected data used in a media report published today on the number of homes completed in Auckland under the Housing Accord with Auckland Council, saying the pace of residential construction in Auckland is at a 10-year high and is continuing to grow.

The first reading of special legislation to enable a new 600-home development at Christchurch’s Riccarton Racecourse in Parliament today has been welcomed by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith. 

A new tenancy bond service goes online today as part of the Government’s programme of making public services more convenient and easier, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith has announced.

“This new Tenancy Service online system is going to make renting a property quicker and easier. It will no longer require cheques and forms to be sent by post. The new system is simple, safe and secure, and will enable the 400,000 bond transactions processed each year to now be done online and a lot more efficiently,” Dr Smith says. 

The latest figures released today by Statistics New Zealand showing the number of building consents across the country reaching at an eight-year high have been welcomed by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith, who says the data confirms that good progress being made in increasing housing supply. 

“There were 26,185 consents issued nationwide in the year to September 2015. This is the highest in any 12-month period since 2007 and double the low of 13,236 following the Global Financial Crisis,” Dr Smith says. 

The Government welcomes today’s release of the Productivity Commission’s Using Land for Housing report which sets out a number of recommendations for improving planning and development systems, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says. 

Subcontractors will benefit from Parliament’s passage today of the Construction Contracts Amendment Bill which will provide improved security of payment and better access to dispute resolution, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says. 

The focus of the Government’s housing support in Christchurch is changing with an increased focus on long-term quality housing and a phasing down of temporary housing support to meet the needs of a recovering city, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith said today in turning the first sod at the 109-home Atlas Quarter development at Welles Street in the central city. 

The Government is inviting suitably qualified developers to register their interest in the development of housing on Crown-owned land in Auckland, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today. 

The latest data from Statistics New Zealand showing the annual number of building consents in Auckland at an eight-year high have been welcomed today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

“The rate of new house build in Auckland remains strong. The 8615 consents issued in the year to August this year is the highest since 2007, while the 741 consents for the month of August is the highest number of consents issued in Auckland in any August since 2004,” Dr Smith says.

A Bill will be introduced to Parliament to give the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel more flexibility and help it meet its statutory deadline, Environment and Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Auckland Mayor Len Brown announced today. 

A Building (Pools) Amendment Bill introduced into Parliament today to replace the Fencing of Swimming Pools Act 1987 will apply a more consistent and practical approach to protecting children from drowning, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

Agreement has been reached with Auckland iwi which will facilitate progress on the Government’s programme to develop housing on Crown-owned land, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.