Election 2026: Green Party releases plan to boost ‘vibrancy’ of Auckland central

The Green Party is promising to introduce new retail rent mechanisms designed to fill empty shops and increase the vibes of central cities if elected. The party will campaign on allowing councils to run rental auctions on shops and business spaces that have been empty for more than a year, and to tweak commercial market rent reviews to ensure that rents can be decreased as well as increased.The policy applies across the country, but the party makes specific mention of Auckland, which has faced “years of construction and disruption” during the development of the City Rail Link (CRL). “We can and must make the most of our awesome new City Rail Link by actively supporting vibrancy, which in turn makes our city safer,” Auckland Central MP and party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said. The CRL, the country’s largest infrastructure project which links previously unconnected rail lines, has opened after about a decade of construction. Council auctions on empty shopsUnder this policy, councils would have the power to run auction leases on shops and businesses in central city areas that had been empty for more than a year. A report from Bayleys, although a year old, showed Auckland CBD shops had the highest vacancy rate in the country at 13%. The property landlord would have an eight-week grace period to find their own tenant. They could also appeal the decision to hold an auction if redevelopment was planned or if they intended to occupy the premises themselves. “Many commercial leases contain a ratchet clause, which means a market rent review can never set the rent below what the tenant already pays. Property Council New Zealand’s own standard lease, released in 2025, keeps a hard ratchet for every rent review,” Swarbrick said. “Small businesses end up paying more than the market rate when consumer spending slows down.” Rent reviewsThe party’s commercial rent review policy only applies to businesses with a turnover under $30 million. It covers existing leases as well as new leases. When a commercial lease includes a market rent review, a legal mechanism for adjusting rent to the market value, the review rent must be able to decrease as well as increase under the Green Party’s policy. The increase limit would need to match the decrease limit. The party would also ban rent reviews that can only be triggered by landlords. The party is also proposing creating a low-cost pathway for businesses for commercial lease disputes. This could be done under the Tenancy Tribunal, Disputes Tribunal, or a dedicated body.“When local businesses fill our main streets, more people come into town, there’s more to do, and everyone has a better, safer time,” Swarbrick said. “These common-sense changes will help small businesses stay open and help new ones fill empty spaces, supporting job creation, the local economy, and cities and towns that work better for all of us.” Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.