An impression of how Lower Hutt might look like if radical changes to the rules around housing are agreed.

It was the "rent generation" versus older ratepayers as Lower Hutt councillors grappled with one of the biggest decisions of their political careers.

Councillors agreed to consult residents on a range of changes to the District Plan that would allow infill, terraced and three-storey housing in some parts of the city.

Tuesday night's meeting heard from a range of older speakers, who said three-storey and infill housing would lower property values and change the character of the city forever.

NICHOLAS BOYACK/STUFF New houses in Wainuiomata hit the $500,000 mark earlier this year. The city council has responded to a lack of affordable housing for families by suggesting a range of changes to its District Plan, encouraging infill and terraced housing. (File photo)

They predicted it would create ghettos and slums, and accused the council of ignoring opposition to intensification.

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Des Darby said research in Wellington found properties that lost the sun as a result of neighbouring development lost $72,000 in value.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace urged councillors to show some courage. "It is not an easy decision, but you were not elected to make easy decisions."

Three-storey housing would allow neighbours to "steal the sun" and the wealth people had invested in their homes, he said.

Katherine Irvine feared "being bullied" by neighbours who could build a three-storey house next to her property.

Real estate agent Lorraine Girvan said she disagreed with mayor Ray Wallace, who had said there was a shortage of houses in Lower Hutt.

There were plenty of properties available, but there was a shortage of the type that appealed to families, she said.

The most common features buyers wanted were "good sun" and a back yard for children to play in, as well as off-street parking.

Depriving people of the sun was a "human rights issues", and she said there was no demand for three-storey houses.

The appropriately named Matt Young was the youngest speaker at 23. He supported the proposed changes, and disagreed with the claim that no-one would want to live in three-storey houses.

"It is quite alarmist and quite unhelpful. As a young person, I would like to live in a three-storeyed house close to the CBD."

Council employee Callum McKenzie, who is in his mid 20s, spoke of frustration among young people, who were being shut out of the housing debate.

Young people accepted the need for smaller houses, which represented their best chance of getting on the property ladder, he said.

Josh Briggs, who at 30 is the second youngest councillor, urged his colleagues to think of future generations.

As a member of the "rent generation", he was concerned that councillors had heard only from older homeowners. The number of homeless people in the city was growing, and the council should look at all options to increase housing in the city.

Hutt City Youth Council chairman Ellen Jackman queried the claims that intensification would lead to slums and ghettos.

Council officers said the proposed changes would include rules to stop that happening.

Wallace said that, unlike Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt did not have any spare land for housing.

He supported asking the public for their views on the proposed changes, and urged his colleagues to show some courage.

"It is not an easy decision, but you were not elected to make easy decisions."

Councillors agreed to consult on the proposed changes. Residents will have four months to tell the council what they think.