Housing and Accommodation

The District Plan provides for a range of different housing options throughout the Western Bay, depending on the planning zone a title of land in located within.

The majority of housing is found within the districts residential zones but housing is also provided for in rural and commercial zones. Different types of accommodation facilities and varying density of housing development can be established in each of these zones, including to a lesser degree the Horticultural Post Harvest and Industrial zone.

Before you begin the building process it pays to check whether a resource consent may be required to build a new house or accommodation unit.

Housing and Accommodation Types

The District Plan includes a chapter of definitions (chapter 3) which includes specific wording to define terms related to housing and accommodation. When speaking to Council planning staff, these definitions can be important to ensure everyone is talking about the same thing.

The main types of housing and accommodation provided for in the District Plan are:

Dwellings
Minor dwellings/ Detached Minor Residential Units
Accommodation facilities
Mobile accommodation and tiny homes
Seasonal worker accommodation
Retirement villages and rest homes

Dwellings

The District Plan defines dwellings as meaning:

one self-contained residential unit designed for or occupied exclusively by one household and includes apartments, semi-detached houses, home units, townhouses and similar forms of residential development. A dwelling may only contain one Kitchen Facility and one Kitchenette.

In Ōmokoroa and Te Puke, the new Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) now apply. For more information please see our projects page and the info sheet.

Residential zones

The first dwelling on residential land is a permitted activity. Any further dwellings which are not a minor dwelling are termed additional dwellings.

These require a resource consent in addition to the building consent and will incur financial contributions.

Additional dwellings are not limited in size like minor dwellings. For each additional dwelling you must comply with the minimum lot size and the relevant activity performance standards in the District Plan. For example if the minimum lot size is 350m2. You are able to have two dwellings on the one title providing you have a total area of 700m2 excluding any areas used solely for access.

Rural zones

Additional dwellings are not provided for in the rural, rural residential and future urban zones and are non complying activities.

Maori land

The District Plan recognises and provides for the establishment of Papakāinga on multiply owned Maori land, much of which is rural land.

See the Te Keteparaha Mo Nga Papakāinga - Maori Housing Toolkit for further information on how to carry out housing development on multiple owned Maori Land.

Minor Dwellings and Detached Minor Residential Units

The Government has changed the rules to make it easier to build to granny flats. Specific information on the NES-DMRU is available here to the changes that have been made to the RMA through the new National Environmental Standard for Detached Minor Residential Units (NES-DMRU), which came into effect on 15 January 2026. A Detached Minor Residential Unit is also known as a granny flat or a 'small stand alone dwelling' under the Building Act

As defined under the NES-DMRU a minor residential unit is the same as a minor dwelling under the District Plan.

Mobile Accommodation and Tiny Homes

If mobile homes and/or caravans (whether movable or immovable) are used for a permanent residence they are defined in the District Plan as a building, and depending on the facilities contained within, they may be considered a dwelling or minor dwelling. It is recommended you speak to Council's duty planner with as much specific information about the mobile accommodation and other houses and buildings on the same title of land to determine what rules will apply.

Accommodation and Facilities

Along with the ability to establish dwellings the District Plan also provides for accommodation facilities such as bed and breakfasts, motels, backpackers etc.

Accommodation facilities are defined in the District Plan as meaning:

any form of residential accommodation that is accessory to a primary dwelling, forms part of a primary dwelling, or is a stand alone facility, that does not comply with the definition of dwelling, minor dwelling, or accessory building. Included within this definition is; home-stays, farm-stays, bed and breakfast, boarding houses, hotels, motels, hostels and camping grounds. Excluded from this definition are Retirement Villages and Rest Homes. Occupancy is based on one person per single bed and two per double bed.

Note: Where the Accommodation Facility will solely be for the purpose of accommodating able bodied workers, an application may be made to Council to be exempt from providing disabled facilities when applying for a Building Consent, this is on a case by case basis and is dependent on approval by Council's Building Department.

Accommodation facilities are permitted in the Residential and Rural zones subject to meeting performance standards relating to maximum floor area, number of occupants and provision of facilities not enabling them to be self contained. If the performance standards cannot be met a resource consent for a discretionary activity will be required.

Seasonal worker accommodation

Given the extent of horticultural activity across the Western Bay, the District Plan also makes specific provision for seasonal worker accommodation. This type of accommodation is associated with post harvest facilities and is defined as:

specific to post harvest facilities and means accommodation directly associated with the seasonal labour requirements of the horticultural industry and includes detached buildings (lodges, dwellings, relocatable modular structures, caravans, mobile homes and house buses) and space within or attached to a post harvest building or combination thereof.

If your title of land is located within a horticultural post harvest zone, seasonal worker accommodation may be established as a permitted activity or require resource consent subject to meeting performance standards relating to matters such as construction, location, scale, and traffic management. See Fees and Charges.

Retirement Villages and Rest Homes

Within the range of different housing and accommodation provisions are retirement villages and rest homes. The rules associated with establishing these types of facilities within the District Plan seek to ensure a high level of on-site amenity through building design and open space. Retirement villages and rest homes are a controlled activity in the Residential Zone subject to compliance with land area requirements.

Financial Contributions

These are one-off fees paid to the Council for the purpose of mitigating the effects of extra loading on the Council supplied services. These fees are paid for additional dwellings and minor dwellings. Other accommodation options can also require a financial contribution fee payment.

Minor Dwellings

Minor dwellings pay 50% of the usual subdivision contribution fee. Financial contributions may cover things like: roading, wastewater, water, ecology, reserves, and stormwater. The amount you pay depends on your property’s zoning and whether you have the ability to connect to council services. This can range from $12,500 for a Rural property and between $36,000 to $40,000 for a residential property. An exact amount will be calculated at the time of resource consent.

Accommodation Facilities

The fees for this type of facility are determined by a specific assessment to confirm how much extra loading on Council supplied services occurs.

Retirement Villages and Rest Homes

The fees for this type of facility are determined by a specific assessment to confirm how much loading on infrastructure when taking into account the type of occupation, vehicle use and ownership, water and wastewater use.

Information to support your Resource Consent Application

If you need a resource consent application include this information in your application to help ensure you're application is considered complete' when lodged:

If on Maori land - evidence of right to build e.g. Licence to Occupy (given by the Trustees) Occupation Orders, Hapu Partition (issued by Maori Land Court).
If the proposed access for your dwelling is directly off a State Highway - you will need to provide consent from NZTA with your application. If you have not received consent then you must provide evidence of your consultation with NZTA.

Further Information

Please contact our Customer Service Planner if you would like further information or refer to information in the District Plan and application form.

Please note: This information has been produced to assist you in understanding planning rules and procedures. It does not contain all District Plan or statutory requirements.