Plan Change 78 replacement

Auckland Council withdrew Plan Change 78 and agreed to replace it with Plan Change 120 (PC120).

What PC120 does: 

• Tightens rules in high-risk flood/coastal hazard areas (including more restrictive consenting, and in the worst areas, limiting to single houses). Some of these new rules will have immediate legal effect.

• Removes the blanket three-storey (MDRS) rule across the city.

• Focuses height/density around centres and rapid/frequent public transport, including 10-15 storeys near specified Western Line stations (e.g., Maungawhau/Kingsland/Morningside at 15; Baldwin Ave/Mt Albert at 10).

• Keeps total housing capacity at 2 million dwellings, meeting the central government requirements. This number was derived from the number of residential zoned sites in the city multiplied by three (which was the permitted MDRS number of dwellings per site). This number is simply a theoretical capacity and certainly not the actual or economically practical nor viable capacity of the city.

Next steps & timings:

• Council will write to the Minister by 10 October 2025 seeking approval to notify PC120.

• Public notification expected 30 October 2025, with submissions likely 3 November–19 December 2025, followed by hearings before an Independent Hearings Panel.

If you’d like advice on a specific property, get in touch with us and we’ll review it to let you know how these changes may affect your site.