Zoning, RMA reform, and who's building what — this is the fight that's been running since 2017. The mechanism each party proposes, who it's meant to help, and the dollar figure attached, set out side by side so you can compare them yourself before you vote.
Includes AINZ, a fictitious party built as a thought experiment to test what an "AI-systems-first" housing policy would look like against real proposals — clearly marked throughout and excluded from the real-party count.
Frames housing as a necessity, not an investment. Would reverse landlord tax cuts and interest deductibility changes so first-home buyers aren't competing against tax-advantaged investors. Campaign "A Home for Everybody" calls for legislating a right to housing, launching a large government-funded and government-run public housing project, and prioritising building for disabled accessibility. Cites that 46% of renting households spend more than 30% of income on rent (up from 19% in 1988), and that house prices have risen 230% since 2003 against 137% income growth.
Source: greens.org.nz — "Greens announce plan to end homelessness & fix housing crisis"; "Housing and Sustainable Communities Policy".
Commits to ensuring 50% of all new social housing is allocated to Māori. Would place a 2% tax on the capital value of any house left vacant or empty for 3+ months a year, add a 2% capital gains tax on all property appreciation (excluding the whānau home), stop all sales of freehold land to offshore foreign interests, and extend the Overseas Investment Act to cover all residential purchases to catch foreign-owned "ghost houses." Frames all whānau as having a right to a constant, warm, leak-free, secure home.
Source: maoriparty.org.nz — "Housing" policy page.
"Going for Housing Growth" requires councils in major towns and cities to immediately zone land for 30 years of housing demand, with central government reserve powers to force compliance if councils don't act. Councils can opt out of Medium Density Residential Zone rules in exchange. A $1 billion Build-for-Growth fund pays councils $25,000 for every house built above their five-year average — funded by discontinuing programmes like KiwiBuild. Also reforming the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act to cut red tape for developers, and separately committed to ending large-scale emergency housing use by working with Community Housing Providers, alongside a review of Kāinga Ora's finances and procurement.
Source: national.org.nz — "Going for housing growth" & "Delivering better social housing"; beehive.govt.nz RMA Reform & Housing portfolios.
Long-standing push to scrap the Resource Management Act entirely, replacing it with a property-rights approach: development is permitted unless it directly and provably harms a neighbour's property, physically or economically. As part of the 2025–26 coalition government, has now delivered a new planning system built on this basis, described by leader David Seymour as the culmination of a campaign he began as a lone MP in 2014. Also proposed sharing 50% of GST revenue from new-build consents with the issuing council, to incentivise councils to fund supporting infrastructure, and previously floated allowing builders to opt out of council consents entirely in favour of private building insurance.
Source: act.org.nz — "A decade-long effort pays off"; RNZ — "ACT launches suite of housing policies" & "ACT Party housing policy would allow neighbours to block multi-unit housing developments".
"Build Faster, Decide Smarter." A single national database mapping every parcel's zoning status, consent history, and infrastructure capacity — replacing the current patchwork of separate council systems. AI pre-screens standard-plan homes and granny flats against the Building Code, issuing consent within days for anything that clears the automated check, with human planners reserved for genuinely complex cases. Demand-forecasting models identify where infrastructure investment is needed 5–10 years ahead, rather than reactively. A public dashboard tracks consent times, prices, and supply by region so no party's figures go unchecked.
This entry is invented for comparison purposes only. It is not affiliated with any registered New Zealand political party.