New regulations making papakāinga developments easier

The Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Papakāinga) Regulations 2026 (NES-P) came into force on 2 July 2026.

The NES-P establishes a nationally consistent set of planning rules for papakāinga developments, defined as housing, ancillary non-residential activities, and Māori cultural activities on Māori ancestral land or land held by a post-settlement governance entity.

The policy objective is clear – to reduce the time and cost involved in district consenting processes, make it easier for owners of Māori land to use ancestral lands for housing and community purposes, and support more affordable housing on Māori land.

This article provides a brief summary of the latest national environmental standard.

What land does the NES-P apply to?

The NES-P applies to Māori ancestral land, including Māori customary land, Māori freehold land, land vested in the Māori Trustee under the Maori Reserved Land Act 1955, certain general land owned by Māori, and land transferred from the Crown to iwi or hapū holders of mana whenua.

It also applies to post-settlement governance entity land.

When is papakāinga development permitted?

Regulation 5 of the NES-P makes papakāinga developments within Māori purpose zones, residential zones, and rural zones permitted where the following conditions are met:

• no more than 10 residential units are built per site on Māori ancestral land;
• ancillary non-residential activities do not exceed 50% of the combined building floor area of residential units;
• the development complies with the building coverage and setback standards (regulation 14); and
• the development complies with certain district and regional plan rules (regulations 15 and 16).

The NES-P clarifies that a rule or standard in a district plan that applies to papakāinga developments, may be more lenient than certain parts of the permitted activity rule or the building coverage and setback standards.

When is resource consent still required?

The NES-P makes the following restricted discretionary activities:

• A papakāinga development for residential use in the Māori purpose zone, residential zone or rural zone that does not exceed 10 residential units, but breaches the building coverage, setback or plan compliance standards.
• A papakāinga development of up to 30 residential units on land held by a post-settlement governance entity.
• A papakāinga development of up to 30 residential units where it is located outside a Māori purpose zone, residential zone or rural zone.
• A papakāinga development of between 11 and 30 residential units where it is located in a Māori purpose zone, residential zone or rural zone.
• A papakāinga development of up to 30 residential units where it is located on a site adjacent to intensive indoor primary production, mining, quarrying or rural industry.
• An ancillary non-residential activity in a Māori purpose zone, residential zone or rural zone.
• A Māori cultural activity in a Māori purpose zone, residential zone or rural zone.

Notification for a papakāinga development with restricted discretionary activity status is limited to iwi authorities, joint management entities, local authorities, immediate neighbours and the New Zealand Transport Agency (if the development will access a state highway).

A papakāinga development of over 30 residential units is a fully discretionary activity under the NES-P.

What does this mean in practice?

The NES-P has the potential to make it easier to do papakāinga developments. It is a welcome step towards removing a layer of red tape that has contributed to the underutilisation of Māori land.

However, it does not resolve every challenge facing papakāinga developments. Infrastructure funding and capacity constraints in rural areas will remain challenges, as will the practical realities of funding development of such land. Importantly, there remain a range of district and regional rules that apply to papakāinga developments, meaning resource consenting may not be avoidable.

While a positive step, it remains to be seen how effective the NES-P will be at facilitating the development of papakāinga on Māori ancestral land.

Mike Doesburg, Partner – Wynn Williams Environment & Planning team

Emma Tod, Associate – Wynn Williams Environment & Planning team