Queenstown has become the fifth district in the country to be earmarked for a special housing accord.
It has been scheduled under the Housing Accords and Special Areas Act, as an area with housing affordability issues, which will allow local council and central government to negotiate a Housing Accord for the area.
The government has already used the legislation to negotiate accords with the Auckland and Christchurch councils and is continuing negotiations with councils in Wellington and Bay of Plenty.
Housing Minister Nick Smith said the move followed a meeting he had with Queenstown Lakes mayor Vanessa Uden last month.
"Queenstown has a median house price of $664,000 and the district is one of the five least affordable housing areas in the country. I am keen to explore how we can address these challenges through a collaborative approach between the council and government," Smith said.
Queenstown is also unique in that it has a high number of homes owned for holiday purposes and high demand for housing from people working in the tourism and hospitality industries who tended to be on lower incomes, he said.
"There is also little land close to the town centre that can be easily developed for housing.
"These are some of the issues that will need to be carefully considered as the council and government develop a a Housing Accord to improve affordability in the Queenstown Lakes District.
"We have seen good progress made under the Auckland Housing Accord, which has a focus on fast-tracking housing developments.
"However the housing issues in each city are different and there is no one size fits all when it comes to the accords," he said.
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