Quick Answer
In Wellington you can build one detached granny flat of up to 70m² on most residential sections without resource consent under the 2026 national standard, and the 2024 District Plan permits up to three dwellings per site in the Medium Density Residential zone under the MDRS. Wellington's catch is physical: steep sites, active fault lines, and inner suburbs so densely built that the 50% site coverage cap does real work. Screening the actual parcel matters more here than almost anywhere.
A 70m² Granny Flat — the 2026 National Standard
From 15 January 2026 the national standard for detached minor residential units (SL 2025/315) applies in Wellington as everywhere in New Zealand: one detached unit of up to 70m² is a permitted activity on sites in residential, rural, mixed use and Māori purpose zones that already have a main house — no resource consent needed if the standards are met. A companion Building Act exemption removes building consent for a compliant single-storey unit.
The standards that matter: at least 2m from boundaries and from the main house in residential zones (10m front and 5m side and rear in rural zones), total building coverage at or under 50% of the site, and one minor unit per site. District plan hazard overlays and title covenants still apply.
Read the full granny flat rules guideTwo or Three Homes on One Section
The 2024 Wellington City District Plan applies the Medium Density Residential Standards: up to three dwellings of up to three storeys per site are permitted in the Medium Density Residential zone, with the High Density Residential zone enabling more through its own standards near the centre and along transit corridors.
The zoning is generous on paper. What decides real projects in Wellington is the section itself: slope, access, and how much of the site the existing house already covers.
Subdividing a Wellington Section
Wellington City's zone-specific lot minimums are not yet independently verified in our rule set, so our screening treats subdivision conservatively and routes eligible-looking sites to a professional check rather than overpromising. The zone gate, slope, tenure and overlay checks still run, which is most of what a pre-purchase decision needs.
What the Zoning Map Won’t Tell You
Our Wellington screening carries 18 hazard and overlay layers, including the Wellington, Ohariu, Terawhiti and Shepherds Gully fault lines, three tsunami layers, coastal inundation, flood, liquefaction, heritage areas and character precincts. On the flats of Miramar or Island Bay the tsunami and liquefaction layers matter; on the hill suburbs it is slope and access. A quarter of Wellington's answer lives in these layers, not the zoning colour.
Screen Your Wellington Address, Free
Everything above is the general picture. Your section's answer depends on its exact zone, parcel geometry, existing buildings, slope, tenure and overlays — which is what our feasibility screening computes live from LINZ parcel data and Wellington City Council's own planning layers, with every rule cited to its source. Screening is free and unlimited across granny flats, multiple dwellings and subdivision.
Screen a Wellington section freeWellington Development — Common Questions
See what your Wellington section could take
Free screening against the actual rules — your zone, your setbacks, your hazard overlays — computed for your address in under a minute, with every rule cited.