Rates DatabaseTāke kaunihera

As with other councils across the country we are facing ongoing high inflation, insurance cost increases, increased interest costs on our borrowings, and rising cost of labour and materials such as pipes and bitumen.

We are also contending with the fact that over the past three years bridges have become 38 per cent more expensive to build, roading and water supply systems are 27 per cent more expensive and sewerage systems are 30 per cent more expensive.

This means we need to spend a lot to maintain and renew key network assets such as our wastewater systems over the next few years.

On top of this our district is faced with a big bill to pay from Cyclone Gabrielle – around $170m to be borrowed to repair and rebuild the bridges, roads and culverts that were destroyed and are essential for the economic and social wellbeing of our community.

We have also committed $50m to the Category 3 properties’ Voluntary Buy Out programme and it is estimated a further $10m is required to repair water infrastructure and parks.

To see the impact on your property enter your address into the online rates calculator here or you can contact the Council's rates department on (06) 871 5000.

While the average rates increase is 19 per cent in the 2024/25 year, this increase will not necessarily apply to your property. Different factors impact on the level of rates.

One property may have a higher valuation than another, or it may be connected to certain council services whilst another may not. A number of services are funded by fixed, per property charges that are also increasing so this changes the proportionate increase that some properties pay relative to others. A property may be in an urban area and closer to facilities than a rural property. A property may be used for a commercial purpose rather than as a home.

To see the impact on your property enter your address into the online rates calculator here.

Click here to see what your rates pay for as a percentage (for urban properties), and summarised below.

• Water services 29%, includes: drinking water (including treatment plants), stormwater, and wastewater (including the Wastewater Treatment Plant).
• Outdoor spaces 16%, includes: parks and reserves, coastal esplanades, sportsgrounds, skate parks, playgrounds, central city recreation spaces.
• Transport (non-cyclone) 12%, includes: roads and footpaths, cycleways and walkways, streetlights and street signs, road safety and traffic lights, bus shelters. Note: NZTA Waka Kotahi funds about half of transport costs.
• Public health and safety 7%, includes: animal control, building consents, CCTV (security cameras), City Assist and Kaitiaki, Civil Defence, liquor licencing and noise control, consent compliance and monitoring, cemeteries.
• Rubbish and recycling 6%, includes: kerbside rubbish collection, kerbside recycling collection, refuse transfer stations, and Ōmaranui Landfill (with Napier City Council).
• Cyclone recovery 5%, includes: bridge repairs and rebuilds, culvert and slip repairs, road repairs and rebuilds, Category 3 Voluntary Buy-out Programme (with Government), parks and drinking water infrastructure repairs.
• Land use and growth planning 4%, includes: District Plan, urban design, resource consents, LIMs and PIMs, land zoning (residential, commercial, and industrial).
• Economic development 4%, includes: visitor information centres, Regional Economic Development Agency (regional share), marketing and events, business attraction.
• Libraries 4%, includes: three district libraries, in-library internet access, community programmes.
• Governance and information 4%, includes: Councillors, Council and committee meetings, elections, Council website and social media, communications and engagement, rate collection.
• Pools 3%, includes: public swimming pools, and Splash Planet.
• Arts, culture and heritage 3%, includes: Hastings Art Gallery, Toitoi – HB Arts & Events Centre, regional art/taonga collection (with Napier City Council), community events, iwi liaison and support.
• Community venues 2%, includes: Hastings Sports Centre, Flaxmere Community Centre, Camberley Community Centre.
• Community development 1%, includes: community plans, community assistance grants, Youth Potential programmes.

The costs of the cyclone are unprecedented. Despite the roading damage being predominantly in the rural area, there were also impacts in the urban area (for example the Waiohiki/Redclyffe and Brookfield bridges). Also, rural roads benefit the whole district in respect of economic activity and access to recreational opportunities. Council did consider a number of options but decided to share the cost across our district, with the rural community paying a bit more to reflect the direct benefits to those communities. The cost is allocated based on land value, which sees a split of 67 per cent to the greater urban area and 33 per cent to the rural area.

The Cyclone Recovery Targeted Rate (CRTR) is split in two parts, the first 50 per cent is rated via a fixed charge on every property, phased over two years:

The other 50 per cent is calculated on a percentage of the land value of a property (the same as the general rate).

The total annual rates bill for each Hastings property is split into four payments spread over the year.

The due dates for payments for the 2024/2025 financial year (June to July) are:

• 23 August 2024
• 22 November 2024
• 21 February 2025
• 23 May 2025

 There are a number of ways you can pay your Hastings District Council rates. These include:

• Pay online: Online payments with Visa, Mastercard or POLi. The credit card service is provided by the ASB Bank. The ASB charges a 1% service fee (payable to the ASB) for each transaction. https://forms.hdc.govt.nz/online-services/new/Pay-Rates/step/2
• Direct Debit (EASYPAY): An EASYPAY direct debit can be set up by completing the online application form or by printing out and completing the hard copy form https://forms.hdc.govt.nz/online-services/new/DDFORM/step/1. Direct debits can be established across a number of different payment frequencies, allowing you to spread the cost over the year.
• In person: Payment can be made by cash or eftpos at the following outlets: Hastings District Council main civic administration building, 207 Lyndon Road East, Hastings. Selected NZ Post retail outlets locally: NZ Post Shop Hastings Paper Plus Hastings, 100 Heretaunga Street West; NZ Post Shop Flaxmere, Flaxmere Pharmacy, Swansea Road; NZ Post Shop Havelock North, Unichem Havelock North Pharmacy, 10 Napier Road.
• Telephone or Internet Banking: You can arrange with your bank to pay your rates by telephone or internet banking. When you contact your bank to set up payments you will need to give them your property number which is on your rates bill. Details supplied to Council for telephone or Internet banking must therefore be set out as:

For further information, please refer to the webpage above.

If you are having difficulty paying your property rates by the due date, you may be eligible for a rates rebate. The rates rebate scheme provides a discount on rates to low-income homeowners. Depending on your circumstances you may be eligible for a rebate.

We may also be able to offer a direct debit payment arrangement to assist with keeping up with rates payments. Please contact us on 06 871 5000 to discuss your options. 

Under its Rates Remission and Postponement Policy, Council also offers a range of residential rates remissions for extreme financial hardship, where a ratepayer’s ability to pay is severely hampered.

Conditions and Criteria
1) When considering whether extreme financial circumstances exist, all of the ratepayer’s personal circumstances will be relevant including the following factors:

• Age;
• Physical or mental disability;
• Injury;
• Illness; and
• Family circumstances.

2) The ratepayer must be the current owner of the rating unit which is the subject of the application.

3) The rating unit must be used solely for residential purposes.

4) The ratepayer must not own any other rating units or investment properties or other realisable assets.

5) The Council must be satisfied that the ratepayer is unlikely to have sufficient funds left over, after the payment of rates, for normal healthcare, proper provision for maintenance of his/her home and chattels at an adequate standard as well as making provision for normal day to day living expenses.

6) As a general rule the ratepayer will be required to pay the first $500 of the rate account.

7) The ratepayer must make acceptable arrangements for payment of future rates, e.g. by setting up a system of regular payments.

8) Any postponed rates will be postponed until:

• A date specified by the Council;
• The death of the ratepayer(s);
• The ratepayer(s) ceases to be the owner of the rating unit; or
• The ratepayer(s) cease to use the property as his/her residence.

9) Postponed rates will be registered as a statutory land charge, by registering a Notice of Land Charges, on the rating unit title. Any costs in registering and subsequently dealing with the charge are to be met by the ratepayer.

10) Interest may be added to postponed rates at the annual interest rate of Council borrowings.

11) Before making written application, the ratepayer must have received budget advice from the Budget Advisory Service, and must make the budget adviser’s findings available to Council staff.

12) Decisions on postponement will be delegated to officers as set out in the Council’s delegation resolution.

In addition to the policy for residential rating units, Council may also consider applications from the owners of non-residential and other property that do not fit the criteria for postponement of residential rates.

Ratepayers who own a home and are on a low income, may be eligible for a rates rebate. Eligibility can be determined via the electronic calculator on the New Zealand Government website, where the Rates Rebate form is also available for download. Although a ratepayer’s income might exceed the income threshold, a rates rebate could still be available depending on the rates amount and number of dependents.

Rates rebate applications are assessed and approved by councils across New Zealand, with entitlement amounts determined through the assessment process. The maximum rebate available is $790. Once people receive their rates bill, they can apply for a rebate for the current rating year period 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. Applications must be returned to the council by 30 June 2025.

In New Zealand, two pieces of legislation deal with Council rates:

• The Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, obliges property owners to pay their rates. It also enables the council to recover unpaid rates from the bank as mortgagee if the property owner is in default; and
• The Property Law Act 2007, also obliges the borrower in a mortgage to pay rates for the property.

Council can notify a bank, as mortgagee, that a property owner has not paid his or her rates, and demand that the bank pay them instead. The bank must pay the arrears. Typically, it will recover the money from the customer by debiting the amount to his or her account. It is standard practice for the terms and conditions of property loans to include a reference to a bank's right to recover money owed by customers.

Typically, if a bank receives a rates notice from Council it will try to contact the customer it relates to explain the consequences of the demand before debiting their account.

If a property is mortgage-free, Council’s legal team will purse the outstanding rates directly with the owner. If this does not result in payment, the file will be referred to a debt collection agency where they will proceed with chasing up the debt using legal services that can have extra charges. In the worst case scenario, the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 allows Council to demand the sale of a property in order to recover unpaid rates.

The existing policy for rate remission on red or yellow stickered cyclone damaged properties applies for one more year (2024-25).

People can also apply for a remission, for a period of up to two years, for severely eroded or impacted properties, including those with crop or pasture damage, where the land has become unusable or uneconomic. Further information required to support the application would include photos of damage and expectations of how long the land is likely to be unusable.

Details on this policy, and Council’s other remission policies can be found on our website here.

Under the order in Council there is no provision for changing land values to reflect damage or where the land is physically gone (e.g erosion or river realignment) due to Cyclone Gabrielle. The current land values are used to set the rates. The new revaluations will be completed in 2025 and will take effect for the 2026-27 rating year.

The current valuations do not take into account damage to land or improvements like houses, vineyards or buildings that was caused by Cyclone Gabrielle unless a building or improvement has been demolished or removed and QV or the Council have been advised of this. In this case, the capital value is reduced

For specific enquiries about a property please contact Council directly on (06) 871 5000.

Please complete the change of address form.