New home consent numbers in Aotearoa are stabilising after a sharp decline from their 2022 peak. In the year ended May 2025, there were 33,530 new homes consented — down 3.8% on the previous year, but showing signs of levelling out. With the volume question less urgent than it was at the peak of 51,015 consents in 2022, attention is turning to how the system processes consents — and whether digital tools including artificial intelligence can make it faster and more consistent.
The Consent Processing Problem
New Zealand’s building consent system has long been criticised for its slowness. Stats NZ data from 2024 showed it takes an average of 569 days from consent to completion for a new home — a figure Building Minister Chris Penk described as simply too long. Processing times vary significantly between councils, and applications are often held up by requests for information that could be anticipated and addressed earlier in the process.
How AI Is Being Applied
Several councils and software providers are trialling AI tools to assist with consent processing. These tools can scan application documents for common errors or omissions before an assessor reviews them, flagging issues that would otherwise only surface mid-process and trigger a request for information. This alone can save weeks per application.
More advanced applications are beginning to check plans against the Building Code automatically — identifying potential compliance issues in submitted drawings before a human assessor reviews them. This doesn’t replace professional judgement, but it means assessors spend their time on genuinely complex decisions rather than routine checks.
Consistency Across Councils
One of the persistent frustrations in the consent system is inconsistency between councils. The same design can be approved straightforwardly in one jurisdiction and face significant queries in another. AI tools trained on national Building Code requirements rather than individual council interpretations have the potential to improve this — though getting councils to adopt common platforms is itself a challenge.
What the Numbers Show
Of the 33,530 consents issued in the year ended May 2025, 17,852 were multi-unit homes (down 8.6%) and 15,678 were stand-alone houses (up 2.4%). The seasonally adjusted number rose 10% in May 2025 after a 15% fall in April, suggesting the market is bouncing around rather than trending strongly in either direction. In this environment, reducing processing friction matters more than ever — every week shaved off consent time reduces holding costs and brings housing supply to market faster.