Source: Auckland Council

More than 1200 high-risk Auckland properties are expected to be purchased by Auckland Council before the end of 2025 – making it one of the largest land acquisition programmes undertaken in New Zealand.

We are carefully deciding what to do with this storm-affected land, with decisions expected to take years.

Uses being considered for storm-affected land

We want to ensure Auckland’s land is used effectively to provide homes and maintain strong communities, while managing risk and reducing the financial impact to ratepayers.

If we keep the land, options for use could include:

• flood resilience and stream management

• adding it to neighbouring parkland or bush

• managing it as high-hazard land.

If we don’t keep the land, options could include:

• sale for safe redevelopment

• sale with conditions to manage the risk (such as converting ground floor units to storage)

• sale to neighbours for extra backyard space.

Auckland Council is considering a range of options for storm-affected land that manages the risks, ensures the land is used effectively and efficiently.

How decisions will be made

Auckland Council’s Governing Body is responsible for deciding whether to keep or sell the land, costs associated with keeping the land (if applicable), and considering any views and preferences expressed by a local board.

The local board is responsible for communicating their views and preferences about storm-affected land in their rohe (boundaries); and is responsible for any storm-affected land that the Governing Body makes available for a local park and/or local service activity – including budget required to maintain it.

With 1200 properties to assess, carefully deciding the future use for every section will take several years.

Diagram showing the management of council land after purchase.

Have a suggestion for a site?

Where people have suggestions for specific Category 3 sites, we can capture that information in our expressions of interest register.

Draft policy and implementation plan

You can read the Draft storm-affected land use – policy and implementation plan on the Auckland Council website (item 12, attachment 1). This policy was endorsed by the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday 13 February, ahead of the final approval step with the council’s Policy and Planning Committee expected in March.

Frequently asked questions:

What will happen to the land when properties are bought out?

Auckland Council will explore all possible uses for the land and this may mean keeping it or selling it. We need to manage community expectations about what activities are possible, with safety being our no.1 priority.

Redevelopment potential will be assessed by looking at the whole property rather than the existing dwelling – there may be scope to locate activity on other parts of the site, or options to re-engineer the land to mitigate risk.

Who will decide how the land is used?

We don’t know yet what the total land holdings will be from the buy-out process, so deciding the future use for every parcel of land will take several years.

It’s anticipated that the council’s Governing Body will make most of the decisions regarding storm-affected land, with consideration of local interests.

The Storm-affected Land Use Policy has been endorsed by Auckland Council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee and will go to the Policy and Planning Committee in March for final approval. This policy guides the use of this land. 

Will the community have a say in what happens to land bought out by Auckland Council?

We want to ensure communities are part of the process to determine the future use of the land, where possible, and we’re also exploring opportunities for partnerships with mana whenua.

Where community members have suggestions for specific Category 3 sites, we can capture that information in our expressions of interest register, to consider as part of the Future Land Use process. Please send ideas to our expressions of interest register.

Can the public access Category 3 land purchased by Auckland Council?

Many of these properties are active worksites, where buildings are being demolished, deconstructed or removed. The council considers these properties pose significant health and safety risks for the public, and strongly discourages anyone from entering and accessing them.

What will happen to vacant land while the long-term use is decided?

Council-owned vacant land will be maintained to ensure a ‘kept look’ with a focus on maintaining areas visible from roads and footpaths (i.e. berms and front yards on properties that have road frontages). A budget of $39.4 million has been allocated over 10 years for ongoing maintenance including things like mowing and tree trimming. If you would like to report any maintenance issues please email recoveryoffice@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or if you see any suspicious behaviour please report it to the police.

Why does it take so long to decide on the future use of these vacant sites?

More than 1200 high-risk properties are expected to be purchased by the end of the year – making it one of the largest land acquisition programmes undertaken in New Zealand.

We want to make the best decisions for the land and the community. The safe use of the site is our no.1 priority.

We have to undertake thorough analysis to explore all possible uses for the land. Making the right long-term decisions takes time and we ask that communities are patient while this work is undertaken.

Will you be selling sites to recoup some of the costs of the buy-outs?

Aucklanders have told us we need to minimise the impact on rates of the buy-out programme, which along with other recovery costs tallies to around $1 billion.

Limited opportunities to sell land for redevelopment or to adjacent landowners, in situations where hazards can be mitigated, will be explored.

Although the existing dwellings were unsafe to live in, there may be options to redevelop the site in a different way and build new housing that doesn’t have the same levels of risk. This may include amalgamating sites into clusters. More homes are an important outcome for local communities.

Where we do sell land, we’ll ensure that it is sold with conditions appropriate to manage the level of risk e.g. converting ground floor units to storage.

Read all recovery FAQs on OurAuckland.

MIL OSI