Dave Cull said the issues needed to be addressed but there were housing issues all over the country – not just in the high-growth areas the Government had identified to target with this bill.

Homeowners could be required to hand their houses over to be redeveloped under a new bill working its way through Parliament.

The Urban Development Bill gives Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities new development and land acquisition powers.

Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities is a crown entity that combines Housing New Zealand, its development subsidiary HLC and the KiwiBuild unit.

David White stuff.co.nz Developers want to build apartments on the land occupied by some of Auckland's marinas. Some are waging a determined battle against the idea.

The special development projects will be the sort that the Government says developers currently struggle to complete, because of problems such as fragmented land parcels, uncoordinated decision-making, poor and aging infrastructure and restrictive planning requirements.

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Bill McKay, a senior lecturer in architecture and planning at the University of Auckland, said the bill would give urban development authorities the same powers to seize property as the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) already had.

"If NZTA decides it wants to build a motorway it can just acquire land… there might be negotiations around money but they're going to get the land."

He said it would be likely that developments that were a result of the bill would fit the Government's intended mix of one third social housing, a third affordable and a third sold without restrictions.

They would include not just housing but the wider infrastructure that private developers could not produce on their own. Most developments would be in brownfields areas, he said.

McKay said the market had not delivered and action was needed. "We've reached the point where someone's got to start to do things properly."

Homeowners should only be as concerned about the proposal as they were about NZTA requiring them to give up their houses for a motorway, he said.

​Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said it was a situation that had developed over an extended period of time.

"The supply of land available for housing has not been sufficient to meet demand, which has been a significant contributor to the worsening of housing affordability. However, zoning and development decisions by local councils have arguably been captured by existing homeowners, who benefit from this constrained supply via the increasing value of their properties," Kiernan said.

"Opposition to new developments from nimbies also typically far outweighs the number of people who are actively in support of the developments, particularly when intensification is involved.

"In this regard, it's clear that the existing system is not working properly, and hasn't done so for an extended period of time. The efforts to accelerate development by the previous government in partnership with local councils via Special Housing Areas seemed to have limited success.

"Also, the infrastructure funding issues faced by local councils are as critical as ever, both in terms of replacing existing infrastructure that is at the end of its life, as well as new bulk infrastructure and network expansions to meet population and household growth. My view is that the government should be applauded for trying to make meaningful change rather than just tinkering around the edges."

Dave Cull, president of Local Body Government NZ, said councils were held back by cumbersome Resource Management Act processes they could not change and their ability to fund growth infrastructure.

Housing could not be put in unless there were enough roads and water pipes, he said, but that had to be funded through rates or debt.

The Government's bill seemed to recognise that it wasn't working – but gave only itself the power to cut through the red tape.

There could be misalignment with local district plans, he said, and local communities' desires for their areas, he said.

He said the issues needed to be addressed but there were housing issues all over the country – not just in the high-growth areas the Government had identified to target with this bill.

Kiernan agreed there was a risk that the Government could make decisions at odds with what a local community wanted.

"However, it would be foolish for government to completely ignore existing land use and convert swathes of park land or highly productive horticultural land, for example, into housing developments."