The government is proposing new rules for "granny flats" to make it easier to build small homes and increase affordable housing options.

For these changes to truly help Waiheke Island, we need the National Environmental Standards for Granny Flats (NES-GF) to address some critical points, otherwise we won't get more homes - we'll get more AirBNBs. 

A Quick Primer on the Waiheke Context: A Housing Crisis
Waiheke Island is facing a severe housing crisis. We have:

• The highest rent-to-income ratio in New Zealand.
• A social housing waitlist four times the national average.
• A critical shortage of affordable, long-term rental homes, which is forcing long-term residents to leave and harming local businesses and community well-being.

Currently, our district plan restricts how buildings can be used, favoring short-term visitor accommodation over permanent residences. This makes our housing shortage even worse.

What the NES-GF Needs to Do
For the new granny flat rules to actually help our community, they must address these issues:

• Manage "Use" to Ensure Long-Term Homes:
  • The new rules must clearly state that granny flats / minor residential units are for long-term residential purposes.
  • If the rules don't do this, they will simply make it easier to build more short-term holiday rentals (like Airbnbs), which directly undermines the goal of increasing affordable, long-term housing.

• Enable Conversion of Existing Visitor Accommodation Units (VAUs):
  • The current proposal mainly focuses on building new granny flats.
  • On Waiheke, there are around 300 existing Visitor Accommodation Units (VAUs) that are already suitable for long-term living.
  • We need a clear and efficient way to convert these existing lawfully established VAUs into long-term residential homes.
  • This would quickly increase housing supply with minimal environmental impact, as the necessary infrastructure (like wastewater systems) is already in place.

By signing this petition, you are telling the government that the National Environmental Standards for Granny Flats must genuinely address the housing crisis in places like Waiheke Island. Demand rules that create long-term homes, not more short-term rentals, and enable the swift conversion of existing suitable properties.