Medium density residential standards

Medium density residential standards were introduced by central government in 2021, to boost housing supply and promote higher density residential development in the country.

Some of these changes apply in Kāpiti since 18 August 2022, when the Proposed Plan Change 2 was publicly notified. The standards will enable housing of up to three storeys to be built on many residential sites on the Kāpiti Coast, without the need for a land use resource consent. You can find out more at Plan Change 2, and in our Operative District Plan.

Schedule 3A of the Resource Management Act 1991 requires us to incorporate the medium density residential standards into our District Plan. This sets the following density standards for residential development on a ‘General Residential Zone’ site:

Density standard	To a…	of…
Number of residential units per site	maximum	3
Building height	maximum	11m, plus an additional 1m for pitched roof
Height in relation to boundary	maximum	4m, plus 60° recession plane
Setbacks	minimum	Front yard: 1.5m Side yard: 1m Rear yard: 1m (excluded on corner sites)
Building coverage	maximum	50 percent of the net site area
Outdoor living space (one per unit)	minimum	Ground floor: 20m2, 3m dimension Above ground floor: 8m2, 1.8m dimension
Outlook space (per unit)	minimum	Principal living room: 4m depth, 4m width All other habitable rooms: 1m depth, 1m width
Glazing	minimum	20 percent glazing of the street-facing facade
Landscaping	minimum	20 percent of the developed site with grass or plants

In Kāpiti, these standards apply to all sites within the ‘General Residential Zone’ in the District Plan. This includes General Residential Zone land in:

Raumati
Paraparaumu
Waikanae
Paekākāriki
Peka Peka
Te Horo Beach
Ōtaki (including Waitohu and Ōtaki Beach).

If your project complies with these standards, it may be a “permitted activity”, and you may not require a land use resource consent.

You can email the Resource Consents team if you’d like to discuss your particular situation.

You may still need resource consent

There may be other rules in the District Plan relevant to your project, and you must comply with these rules as well as the medium density residential standards. Examples might be rules associated with earthworks, noise, transport, subdivision and rules associated with qualifying matter areas. You can find out more at Plan Change 2.

A handy way to determine if you may need a consent is to follow this decision tree:

Is the proposal in a qualifying matter area or new residential zone?
If yes – resource consent is required under operative district plan for any rule not met.
Usual objectives and policies weighting under s104 of the RMA.
If no – go to step 2.
Does the proposal meet the MDRS permitted activity rule that has immediate legal effect as notified in the intensification planning instrument?
If yes – go to step 3.
If no – resource consent is required under operative district plan for any rule not met.
MDRS objectives and policies with full weighting under s77M of the RMA.
Does the proposal meet all of the following criteria?
– All rules in a proposed plan (including the intensification planning instrument) that have immediate legal effect are met.
– All rules in the operative district plan that have existing legal effect are met.
If yes – no resource consent required; this is a permitted activity.
If no – resource consent required under a proposed plan (including the intensification planning instrument) or operative district plan for any rule not met.
MDRS objectives and policies with full weighting under s77M of the RMA.

You can apply for a certificate of compliance to be sure your project complies with the medium density residential standards or if it needs a resource consent under another rule.

Regional council resource consents

Sometimes you may also need a resource consent from the Greater Wellington Regional Council, such as if your property is serviced by an on-site wastewater treatment and disposal system (a septic tank). See Greater Wellington Regional Council — Resource consents for more information on regional council consents.