Development Levies

The Government’s ‘Going for Housing Growth’ programme will replace development contributions with a levy system to better fund housing infrastructure.

Under this approach:

  • Developers pay a proportionate share of growth infrastructure costs across levy areas using a
    standard method
  • Levies cover core services: water, wastewater, stormwater, transport, and community facilities
  • A regulator, likely the Commerce Commission, ensures consistent application
  • The new system is designed so that “growth pays for growth”, reducing reliance on existing ratepayers funding growth projects.

Development Levies Resources:

Waimakariri District Council's View:

On February 20 2026 Council made a submission on this proposal. Below are our introductory points as well as a link to the full submission document.

1. Key Points


1.1. The Waimakariri District Council (the Council) thanks the Department of Internal Affairs (the Department) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development for the opportunity to provide a submission on development levies and the Local Government (Infrastructure Funding) Amendment Bill (the Bill).


1.2. The Council supports the Bill’s intent to ensure growth pays for growth and to maximise cost recovery of growth-related costs through development levies.


1.3. Given this, the Council is supportive of charges being set based on the aggregate cost of providing infrastructure capacity for growth in levy areas, as this is likely to increase the cost recovery of growth costs and reduce subsidisation of growth-related costs from rates (as per s211A purpose statement).


1.4. The Council supports achieving consistency in the application of development levies across the country. The Council also supports the proposed flexibility for Councils to identify the demands for development.


1.5. Support Development Levies as proposed here. We do not support the combined impact of this proposal with the IFF Bill. When these are combined the aggregate impact of these proposals has the potential for rate payers or end users to effectively pay more than once for the infrastructure associated with new developments.


1.6. Table 1 (Appendix 1) contains the Council’s response to the specific questions included in the discussion document.

Full submission on Development Levies

Our submission talks in further detail about our Council's concerns with this proposal and the likely results of such a policy or proposal on Waimakariri.

Click here

Next steps

Consultation on the draft legislation is running through early 2026, with a Bill expected to be introduced mid‑year and enacted by early 2027. Councils would be able to begin charging development levies, after adopting levy policies, from around 2028.

Government consultation closed on February 20 2026 – you can find more detail and make a submission at https://www.dia.govt.nz/development-levies-consultation.

Last reviewed date: 23 Feb 2026