National Policy Statement on Urban Development

The NPS-UD 2020 recognises the national significance of:

• having well-functioning urban environments that enable all people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing, and for their health and safety, now and into the future
• providing sufficient development capacity to meet the different needs of people and communities.

A3 graphic on the NPS-UD 2020 (JPG)

Some urban areas in New Zealand are growing quickly. To support productive and well-functioning cities, it is important that there are adequate opportunities for land to be developed to meet community business and housing needs.

The 2015 Productivity Commission inquiry into Using land for housing recommended that a national policy statement could help address the constraints on development capacity in the resource management system. The NPS-UDC 2016 formed part of the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission recommendations.

Using land for housing [New Zealand Productivity Commission website]

In September 2017, the Government established the Urban Growth Agenda (UGA). The UGA is a programme that aims to remove barriers to the supply of land and infrastructure and make room for cities to grow up and out. The NPS-UD 2020 contributes to this. It does this by addressing constraints in our planning system to ensure our system enables growth and supports well-functioning urban environments.

Urban Growth Agenda [Ministry of Housing and Urban Development website]

Consultation held on the proposed NPS-UD 2020

As part of the UGA work, the Government consulted the public on the proposed NPS-UD 2020 from 21 August to 10 October 2019.

Visit Planning for successful cities – our proposal, your views

• Read the Summary of submissions 
• Read the Recommendations and decisions report on the National Policy Statement on Urban Development.

The NPS-UD 2020 requires councils to plan well for growth and ensure a well-functioning urban environment for all people, communities and future generations

This includes:

• ensuring urban development occurs in a way that takes into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (te Tiriti o Waitangi)
• ensuring that plans make room for growth both ‘up’ and ‘out’, and that rules are not unnecessarily constraining growth
• developing, monitoring and maintaining an evidence base about demand, supply and prices for housing and land to inform planning decisions
• aligning and coordinating planning across urban areas.

The NPS-UD 2020 contains objectives and policies that councils must give effect to in their resource management decisions.

Not all NPS-UD 2020 objectives and policies apply to all councils

The objectives and high-level policies of the NPS-UD 2020 apply to all councils that have all or part of an urban environment within their district or region. However, some policies apply only to tier 1 or tier 2 councils.

The Introductory guide to the National Policy Statement on Urban Development outlines what objectives and policies apply to which councils and the timeframes for implementation.

Introductory guide to the National Policy Statement on Urban Development

It is important that we provide the appropriate system settings to meet the NPS-UD’s objective of well-functioning cities. One barrier is that existing planning processes have been too slow to address the lack of housing choice.

To give councils further direction and support to implement the NPS-UD, changes were needed to the Resource Management Act before the wider resource management system reform is introduced.

The Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act passed into law on 20 December 2021.

Read Housing intensification enabled by RMA Amendment Act for more information.

Find out more on the Resource management system reforms