Auckland Council’s widely anticipated Plan Change 120 (PC 120) is set to be amended following the Government’s passage of the Resource Management (Auckland Housing) Amendment Act (Act) under urgency this week. 

The Act, introduced to Parliament on 31 March 2026 received Royal Assent today, and will commence on 3 April 2026. It follows on from the Government’s announcement in February 2026 that it intended to ‘soften’ the housing capacity requirements of PC 120. 

Reduced housing capacity

Under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), Auckland Council was required to ensure that any replacement of Plan Change 78 (its previous intensification plan) provided for the same level of housing capacity – being 2 million dwellings.

The Act amends this requirement by permitting Auckland Council to provide 32.5% less housing capacity than previously required under Plan Change 78, reducing the minimum housing capacity to approximately 1.4 million dwellings. This is a further reduction to Auckland’s housing capacity target from the 1.6 million figure the Government announced back in February. However, where intensification is to be enabled is more important than the capacity figure. 

Next steps 

The Act sets out a new process for Auckland Council to follow in revising PC 120. It must now: 

• decide whether it will amend and/or withdraw any parts of PC 120; 

• publicly notify its decision to amend/withdraw parts of PC 120; and

• seek submissions on PC 120 and its amendments (if any) and set out the process for submissions and subsequent participation. 

The Act confirms that all existing submissions on PC 120 remain valid. Submitters may lodge new submissions or amend their existing submissions once Auckland Council’s position on PC 120 is notified. The Act also provides that any other person (regardless of whether they submitted on PC 120 previously) can make a submission on the revised PC 120. Interested parties will have 20 working days from the date of the public notice to make or amend a submission.

Auckland Council has indicated that it proposes to meet the revised standards set by the Act by, among other measures, reducing housing capacity in areas located more than 10 km from the city centre, beginning with suburbs served by less frequent bus services or poor public transport connections.

Once Auckland Council publicly notifies its changes to PC 120, interested parties should carefully review any proposed changes, particularly any alterations to zoning and development potential.

If you have questions about how the Act or the forthcoming changes to PC 120 may affect your property or development interests, please contact our experts. 

This article was authored by Harry Bird, a solicitor in our Environment team.