Cross leases were originally developed in the 1960s as a way of getting around restrictive subdivision requirements and saved developers in cost and time. They have however been labelled New Zealand’s “greatest conveyancing issue”.

Aimed at addressing the New Zealand-wide lack of affordable houses, it requires certain councils (including Auckland) to incorporate new medium-density residential standards into their unitary plans.

Recent planning legislation changes have seen many local councils define various areas of land that are now zoned for more intensive housing.