The Auckland Unitary Plan is the document that controls what can be built on every piece of land in the Auckland region. It sets out the zones, rules, and standards that apply to residential and commercial development, and it has a direct impact on almost every building project we work on at Architech Designs. For homeowners planning to build, extend, or subdivide, understanding how the Unitary Plan applies to their property is not optional. It is the starting point for any sensible design process.
This article is not a comprehensive guide to the Unitary Plan, which is an enormous and complex document. It is a practical overview of the things that are most likely to be relevant to Auckland homeowners who are thinking about building or renovating.
The most fundamental concept in the Unitary Plan is zoning. Every piece of land in Auckland is assigned a zone, and the zone determines what activities are permitted on that land and what development standards apply. For residential properties, the most common zones are the Single House Zone, the Mixed Housing Suburban Zone, the Mixed Housing Urban Zone, the Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone, and the Large Lot Zone. Each zone has its own rules about things like minimum lot size for subdivision, maximum building height, maximum site coverage, minimum setbacks from boundaries, and outlook standards.
The zone your property is in determines what you can do without needing a resource consent and what will require one. In the Mixed Housing Suburban Zone, for example, you can generally build up to two storeys within the permitted height limit without a resource consent, as long as you comply with all the other standards. If you want to build something that exceeds the height limit, or does not meet the setback requirements, or would result in too much of the site being covered by buildings, you will need a resource consent for those aspects of the project.
You can find out what zone your property is in by searching the Auckland Council GeoMaps website, which has an interactive map showing zones and overlays for every property in the region. The zone information tells you a lot, but it does not tell you everything, which is why the next section matters.
In addition to the zone rules, many Auckland properties are subject to one or more overlay rules that sit on top of the base zone standards. The most common overlays relevant to residential properties are the Special Character overlay, which covers many older inner suburbs and applies rules designed to protect the character of those areas, the Flood Plain Management overlay, which applies to properties in flood-prone areas and restricts certain types of development, the Natural Hazards overlay, which covers areas subject to coastal hazard, erosion, or instability, and the Heritage overlay, which applies to individually listed heritage buildings and heritage precincts.
Overlay rules can significantly affect what you can do with a property, and they apply on top of the zone rules rather than instead of them. A property in the Mixed Housing Urban Zone that is also in the Special Character overlay, for example, must comply with both sets of rules. The Special Character overlay rules are generally more restrictive than the zone rules for demolition and exterior alterations, so in practice the overlay rules will often be the binding constraint.
Under the Unitary Plan, activities are classified as either permitted, controlled, restricted discretionary, discretionary, or non-complying. Permitted activities can proceed without any consent as long as they comply with the relevant standards. Controlled activities require a consent but council must grant it and can only impose conditions on the specified matters. Restricted discretionary activities require a consent and council assesses them against the relevant objectives and policies, but only has discretion over the specified matters. Discretionary and non-complying activities involve a broader assessment and a greater risk of decline.
For most homeowners, the practical question is whether their proposed project is a permitted activity or whether it needs a resource consent. If the project complies with all the relevant zone and overlay standards, it is generally permitted and only needs a building consent. If it does not comply with one or more standards, a resource consent is required for those aspects of the project. The category of resource consent, whether restricted discretionary or discretionary or non-complying, depends on which standards are being breached and by how much.
Height limits are one of the most frequently encountered Unitary Plan standards in residential projects. The height limit for a given property depends on the zone and, in some cases, the overlay. In the Single House Zone, the standard height limit is eight metres. In the Mixed Housing Suburban Zone it is also eight metres. In the Mixed Housing Urban Zone it is eleven metres. In the Terrace Housing and Apartment Buildings Zone it is sixteen metres.
There is also a height in relation to boundary rule, which limits how high a building can be relative to its distance from the boundary. This rule is designed to protect neighbours from being overshadowed by buildings built close to the boundary. It applies in addition to the overall height limit and can be a more binding constraint on some sites, particularly narrow sections or those where the principal windows of a neighbour face your property.
Site coverage rules limit the proportion of the site that can be covered by buildings and impervious surfaces. In most residential zones, there is a maximum percentage of the site that can be covered by the building footprint, and a further maximum for total impervious surface including driveways and paved areas. These rules are designed to ensure there is enough green space on residential sections and to manage stormwater runoff.
Setback rules require buildings to be set back a minimum distance from the front, side, and rear boundaries. The required setbacks vary by zone. Front setbacks are generally larger than side and rear setbacks, reflecting the importance of the relationship between the building and the street. In some situations, a building can legally be built up to or very close to a side or rear boundary, but this needs to be checked against the specific rules for the zone.
The best time to find out how the Unitary Plan applies to your property and your proposed project is before you start spending money on design. A planning check at the outset of a project costs almost nothing relative to the cost of designing something that turns out to require a resource consent you were not expecting, or that cannot be approved at all. We carry out planning checks as a standard part of our initial consultation for every project, and we give clients honest advice about what is achievable on their site before any design work begins. If you want to understand how the Unitary Plan applies to your property, give us a call.
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