WELLINGTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government is taking in a raft of actions to make it easier and more affordable for people to build which includes eliminating barriers to the use of overseas building products.

Efforts have been made to cut red tape and build more housing and infrastructure in order to rebuild the economy, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said on Thursday.

"It has become more difficult and expensive to build in New Zealand, with the cost of building a house increasing by 41 percent since 2019," Penk said, adding that it is around 50 percent more expensive to build a stand-alone house here than in Australia.

The amount of red tape drives up the building costs, Penk said, citing an example that it is almost impossible to use new building products in New Zealand without facing huge delays, with some approval pathways taking up to two years before a new product is recognized for use.

The changes include recognizing building product standards from trusted overseas jurisdictions, removing the need for designers or builders to verify standards, which is time-consuming and costly.

The changes also include requiring building consent authorities to accept the use of products that comply with specific overseas standards that are equivalent to or higher than those in New Zealand, and approving the use of building products certified through reputable certification schemes overseas.

"This is a major shakeup that will drive down the cost of building without compromising on quality, to make it easier and more affordable for people to build or renovate a home," Penk said.

Meanwhile, New Zealand welcomes overseas investment in Build to Rent housing, a type of medium to high-density residential development, specifically built for long-term rental housing, under a new directive announced on Thursday.

New Zealand has a shortage of quality rental housing, which is exacerbating housing affordability issues, said Associate Finance Minister Chris Bishop.

According to the statistics department Stats NZ, home consents were down 6 percent in February 2024, compared with February 2023, with 2,795 new homes consented in February this year in New Zealand. Enditem

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