Auckland Council wants greater powers to help deliver more truly affordable housing.
It says new forecasts suggest 300,000 genuinely affordable homes will be needed for lower income families over four decades.
The Productivity Commission has urged the council to soften plans to curb urban sprawl, saying more housing land will lower costs.
But in a formal response, Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse says the issue is more complex.
She says the council needs, among other things, new powers to reward developers who create genuinely affordable housing.
Ms Hulse says another idea would be a small tax on the increase in property values which occurs when land is zoned for subdivision, or higher density housing.
