Auckland Plan Change 78 (PC78) — Intensification History

The Facts

Plan Change 78 (PC78) was notified by Auckland Council in August 2022 to implement the government's Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) and the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD). The MDRS allowed three dwellings of up to three storeys on any lot in tier-1 urban areas as a permitted activity. PC78 attracted significant public submission and a council-led withdrawal of some provisions, with the Independent Hearings Panel reporting in 2024. Following amendments to the RMA in 2024-2026, parts of PC78 became operative, parts were withdrawn, and some sites remain in a transitional state. The Council's PC78 viewer (linked in keyLinks) maps which provisions apply to which addresses. Reading both the current zone and the PC78 overlay is essential for any intensification-based feasibility.

A Developer's Take

PC78 is the plan change every Auckland developer thinks they understand and most don't. The story is worth knowing.

Notified August 2022 to implement the NPS-UD policies 3 and 4 plus the MDRS that the previous government mandated. Original intent was significant intensification: up to 6 storeys near rapid transit, 3 storeys plus 3 dwellings on most residential sites by default. That would have re-priced Auckland.

Then the politics changed. National-led coalition came in, made MDRS optional in 2024. Auckland Council partially withdrew PC78 in October 2025.

What survived (now operative law):

• City Centre Zone provisions, operative 6 June 2025

• Metropolitan Centre Zone plus specified Chapter I precincts, operative 8 May 2026

What got withdrawn:

• The broader MDRS rollout to Mixed Housing Urban and Mixed Housing Suburban zones

Why this matters in practice: a site that pencils under the AUP operative-in-part-2016 may have completely different yield potential under the surviving PC78 changes. If your site is in Met Centre Zone or City Centre Zone, you're working under PC78 rules whether you know it or not. The AUP Viewer alone won't tell you this.

Open the PC78 viewer alongside the AUP viewer for any address. If they show different zoning, the most recent operative provisions win. Five minutes saves you running feasibility on the wrong rules.

When to use this

Open PC78 anytime a project relies on three-dwelling MDRS rules, height-in-relation-to-boundary relaxations, or NPS-UD walkable catchment provisions. If a property's AUP zone says one thing and the PC78 overlay says another, you need both to know what consent pathway applies. Don't assume the most generous rule applies — read the overlay carefully and confirm with a planner before committing to a yield assumption.