On 26 March 2025, Property Council submitted to Christchurch City Council on the Development Contributions Policy Review 2025.
In brief
Property Council is deeply concerned about the impact of the proposed development contributions on housing supply and affordability in Christchurch. Significant development contribution fee increases will likely result in Christchurch becoming uncompetitive for new housing developments compared with neighbouring and other comparable regions. If enacted, this development contribution policy could add tens of thousands of dollars to the price of a new build house in Christchurch.
Our view
The Draft DC Policy was released prior to Central Government’s announcement to overhaul development contribution fees and replace them with developer levies. Legislation enabling development levies will occur in September 2025, only six months away. In light of this, we recommended that Christchurch City Council pause its development contributions review until the new levy system is in place. This can be achieved through seeking approval to extend the three-year DC review timeframe within legislation, similar to what the Christchurch City Council has done in the past to receive extensions on Plan Changes.