Mayor Jim Boult said the council disagreed with the Bill's ''fundamental position'' that overseas investors were a major cause of housing unaffordability and wants the Government to conduct more research and analysis.
''QLDC has long championed housing affordability within the district, and developed a number of innovative programmes to address this issue,'' Mr Boult said.
''It goes without saying that we definitely support the intent behind this Bill.
''However, the Bill's fundamental position is that the affordability issue is driven by overseas investors.
''We contend this belief is misplaced and we're asking central government to take more time for further research and analysis.''
In its submission, QLDC contends there is little evidence to support the claim overseas buyers are having an effect on house prices, and provides a list of recommendations.
''We have the fastest-growing population in New Zealand, with a significant proportion of that growth coming from international migrants. The district's economy relies heavily on employees coming from overseas.
''Many of these are experienced professionals with families who need the opportunity to invest in a home, otherwise attracting the skills we desperately lack in the district will be impossible.''
The council's submission includes property sales statistics for July to September last year, which show ''only 3.25% of all property sales nationally were to overseas buyers, dropping to 2.25% if Australians were excluded from these statistics''.
It contends the high number of second homes in the district (typically owned by Aucklanders and Australians) could be contributing more significantly to the increase in house prices than overseas buyers.
Mr Boult believed the Bill did not address the significant role second-home buyers played in the affordability problems faced by local residents and further research was required into this and other possible contributory factors.
''We've learnt from our own housing affordability taskforce that there is no easy, single answer to this complex issue.
''We don't really understand the impact this Bill will have on the housing market, our wider economy and international reputation if it is passed in its current format.''
