Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders may be living in homes whose legal status is far less secure than they realise — and the Government’s sweeping replacement of the Resource Management Act appears set to leave that problem untouched.
For decades, cross‑lease and unit title homes were built legally under the rules of the time. Yet many owners are now discovering that when they try to modernise their titles, refinance, insure, or sell, councils are treating those same homes as non‑compliant. The result is a growing national bottleneck: ordinary homeowners facing unexpected costs, delays, and legal hurdles for properties that were once fully compliant.
Land Information New Zealand data shows around 270,000 cross‑lease and unit title properties exist nationwide, affecting roughly 700,000 people — making this one of the largest structural issues in the housing system.
Property consultant Brent Clode says the problem stems from a widening gap between historic approvals and modern council interpretations. Homes built lawfully in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s are now being assessed under today’s standards when owners seek to convert cross‑leases to fee simple titles or restructure outdated unit title developments.
“There is a widening gap between how the law was applied historically and how it is being interpreted today,” Clode said.
He argues the Government’s new planning framework fails to provide a clear pathway for resolving that mismatch. His submission calls for the legislation to confirm existing‑use rights for lawfully built homes, protect historic infrastructure, and create a streamlined process for title conversions that don’t increase environmental effects.
“This isn’t about weakening environmental standards — it’s about legal certainty,” he said. “When homeowners act in good faith and rely on historical approvals, the law should recognise that.”
With housing affordability already stretched, Clode warns that ignoring this issue risks adding friction, cost, and confusion for hundreds of thousands of households.
As Parliament rewrites the country’s planning system, the question now is simple: will the new laws fix this long‑standing gap — or leave a quarter‑million homes in legal limbo for another generation?
