How your rates are calculated
Hastings District Council's rates are charged based on property values, rating areas and targeted rates.
Property valued are supplied by Quotable Value Limited
The rating system is the mechanism by which the net funding requirements of the Council's programmed works and services detailed in this year's Long Term Plan are charged to the district's ratepayers. Rates are levied as a tax on property in compliance with the statutory provisions of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.
Two methods are used to determine the allocation of cost to an individual property:
- Rating Areas
- Differential Rating
Rating areas
Hastings District is divided into two distinct rating areas - Rating Area One Urban and Rating Area Two Rural.
The rating areas are based on:
- The definition of an urban area with a boundary based on effective daily links to the city from Statistics New Zealand.
- Relative opportunity to use urban based facilities within an approximate 10-15 minute radius of the city.
- Hastings District Council planning zones, which influence the opportunity to use land.
- The types of land use within the district.
The costs of the Council's various activities are apportioned into the two rating groups using agreed formulae which reflect, as near as possible, the costs of providing services to each of these areas.
Some costs in Rating Area 2 (such as Community Service Facilities) are apportioned on a discounted basis to reflect remoteness and access to these facilities.
Differential rating
Within each rating area in the District, the Council recovers the general rate requirement on a differential basis on the land value of a property.
Rates (cents per dollar of land value) for 2017/18 are:
| Differential group name | Cents per dollar LV |
| Differential Rating Area One Uban | |
| Residential | 0.5679 |
| Residential Clive | 0.4600 |
| Residential Non Urban (Including Townships & Small Settlements) | 0.4316 |
| Horticulture/Farming | 0.3862 |
| CBD Commercial | 1.7037 |
| Other Commercial | 1.5617 |
| Commercial Non Urban- Peripheral | 1.3346 |
| Differential Rating Area Two | |
| Residential | 0.2293 |
| Lifestyle/Horticulture/Farming | 0.2698 |
| Commercial | 0.4452 |
The differentials are based on a Council assessment of cost/benefit with some modifications to allow for transitional impacts on certain categories of ratepayers.
Land valuations
The Total Rates Revenue that is required to run the district each year is set through Council’s Annual Plan and Long Term Plan process. This total is then apportioned across ratepayers using a combination of factors, such as the land value of your property, how you land is used, and the availability and connection of services such as Water, Wastewater, Refuse and Recycling (Targeted Rates).
Your share of General Rates is based on your properties land value. So when property land values change, it can impact your properties share of the total rates.
Generally speaking:
- If your land value increases by about the average amount, you’ll have an average rates increase.
- If your land value increases more than the average, you’ll have a greater-than-average rates increase.
- If your land value increases by less than the average, you’ll have a lower-than-average rates increase.
You can lodge an objection to your valuation with QV by visiting their website.
Contact
For more information on your rates, please contact our Rating Department on phone or email.
