Rates
Property and business owners in Kaikōura pay rates. Some properties are non-rateable (e.g DOC land) but most are rateable.
Rates pay for the maintenance and development of the District’s infrastructure and community facilities, the cost of providing services like the library and Civil Defence and the general running of Council. Council sets its rates annually around the end of June through the Annual Plan or Long Term Plan. The rating year runs from 1 July until 30 June.
On this page:
* Rates information is displayed for 2020/2021.
Lookup your rates online using the property address or VG number
The Rating Information Database contains a record of all information required for setting and assessing rates. The database for the Kaikōura District Council and Environment Canterbury (Kaikōura District properties only) may be inspected without fee at the Council’s reception, Level 2, 96 West End, Kaikōura between the hours of 8.30am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
Rating Areas
Kaikoura has three rating areas; urban, semi-rural and rural. Properties are allocated to an area based on how close they are to urban services Commercial properties (those used exclusively or primarily for business purposes) also pay specific rates.
- Download a map of the Urban Area (properties within Kaikoura Township, storm water management area and incorporating properties in the Seaview and Ocean Ridge subdivision areas and the Kaikoura Peninsula.)
- Download a map of the Semi-Rural Area (all properties within a 10 kilometre radius of the town centre including Peketa and Hapuku villages, Inland Road up to but not including Kowleigh, and the Kaikoura Flats, but excluding all property within the urban area.)
- Download a map of the Rural Area (all property outside the urban and semi-rural areas.)
Different types of rates
There are rules around setting rates which Council must follow. These are set out in the Local Government Act and the Local Government (Rating) Act.
All Councils set their rates differently depending on the wants and needs of the communities within the district or city. This makes comparing rates between districts very difficult.
As well as rates, Council seeks income from other sources such as fees, user charges and subsidies or grants from central government or other funding partners.
The Uniform Annual Charge – a fixed amount charged to all rating units (or separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit). This is not affected by the capital value of a property. This ‘flat fee’ covers things Council believes all ratepayers benefit from equally such as the general operations of Council including governance (Mayor and Councillors), library services, sports fields, playgrounds, cemetery, walkways, public halls, civil defence and waste management.
General Rate – an amount you pay based on cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property that pays for the general operations of Council. The rate includes a differential, so that rural and semi-rural ratepayers pay slightly less than urban. This includes community services, environmental planning, planning, building control, dog control, community facilities, general parks and reserves, a portion of public toilets and traffic control.
Targeted rates - rates that are charged to pay for specific things. These are often charged to a selection of properties and the amount charged will vary depending on the rating area, location and other aspects of the property. (Sewerage and water are good examples).
Differentials –a way of splitting the cost of some of our rates/charges across our rating areas to make sure that different areas pay different amounts. For example for a differential of 1 urban:0.5 semi-rural : 0.25 rural, urban properties pay twice as much per dollar of capital value than semi-rural properties do, and four times as much per dollar of capital value than rural properties do.
Charge/rate |
What it pays for |
Who pays what |
||
Urban |
Semi-rural |
Rural |
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Uniform Annual General Charge |
The general operations of Council including governance (Mayor and Councillors), library services, sports fields, playgrounds, cemetery, walkways, public halls, civil defence, waste management and recycling and general environment health. |
$559.15 per rating unit, or separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit. |
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Earthquake Levy |
Costs of building up reserves for current and future emergency events. |
$45 per separately used an inhabited part of a rating unit. |
||
Earthquake Rate |
Costs associated with the earthquake response and rebuild. |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
||
Civic Centre Charge |
The costs of the museum, library and Council office building. |
$63.27 per separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit. |
||
Roading Rate |
Cost of upgrading and maintaining bridges and roads through the district. |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
||
District Planning Rate |
Costs of district planning. The District Plan sets our rules for development and subdivisions within the district. |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
Most properties also pay water charges - you can find out more about these here
For the following rates, different rating areas pay a different amount. Generally, those benefiting most from the service provided pay more, with people living further away benefiting a little less and therefore paying less.
Charge/rate |
What it pays for |
How it’s calculated |
Ratio of payment by rating area |
||
Urban |
Semi-rural |
Rural |
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General Rate |
The general operations of Council. This includes general management, community services, environmental planning, planning, building control, dog control, community facilities, general parks and reserves, a portion of public toilets and traffic control. |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
1:1 |
0.9:1. |
0.9:1 |
Harbour Rate |
50% of the net costs of operating the harbour facilities (South Bay and the North and Old Wharves). |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
1:1 |
0.5:1 |
0.25:1. |
Town Centre Rate |
Town centre maintenance, cleaning and servicing the West End toilets and funding previously raised loans for West End upgrades |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property |
1:1 |
0.5:1 |
0.25:1 |
Footpath & Streetlight Rate |
Maintaining, upgrading and operating our footpaths and streetlights. |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
1:1 |
0.5:1 |
0.20:1 |
Stock Control Rate |
Stock control service to deal with stock on the roads and matters related to our Movement of Stock bylaw. |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
Nil |
1:1 |
1:1 |
Kerbside Recycling Charge |
Weekly kerbside recycling collection service. |
$104 per separately used or inhabited part of rating unit who have access to the service. |
|||
Rural Recycling charge |
Rural weekly recycling collection from various pickup points. |
$56.21 per separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit. |
|||
Stormwater Rate |
Stormwater disposal and upgrading and maintenance of the stormwater system |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
Nil |
Nil |
|
Sewer Loan Rate |
Repaying historic loans taken out to install, increase and improve the sewerage system |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property.
All rateable properties within the area serviced by the Kaikōura sewerage system or unconnected properties within 100m of any part of the system. |
|||
Sewerage Charge |
Sewer disposal and treatment as well as system upgrades and maintenance.
There are different rates for properties that are considered self-contained and serviced and for commercial properties and where there is more than one water closet (toilet). |
All rateable properties within the area serviced by the Kaikōura sewerage system are charged $342.06 per separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit, and $171.03 per additional water closet (toilet) and urinal. Properties that are primarily used as a residence for one household will generally be treated as having one water closet.
Unconnected properties within 100metres of the system pay a half charge. |
Nil – unless meets criteria to the left |
Charge/rate |
What it pays for |
Who pays |
What you pay |
Commercial Rate |
Funds tourism and economic development and a portion of traffic control, harbour facilities and public toilets. |
Those properties, which are used principally or exclusively for commercial or industrial purposes but not farms. |
Cents in the dollar of the rateable capital value of your property. |
Public Rubbish Bin Charge |
Providing a public rubbish bin collection service at various locations around the district. This charge funds 50% of the costs of providing the service with the remainder funded by the General Rate. |
Those properties, which are used principally or exclusively for commercial or industrial purposes but not farms. |
$157.94 per separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit.
|
Registered premises charge |
Costs of liquor licensing, food and health safety inspections and environmental health. |
All rateable properties who undertake a licensed activity. This is properties where alcohol is sold or consumed, food premises, camping grounds, hairdressers and funeral directors. |
$345 per licence.
|
Accommodation Sector Charge |
Contributes to tourism and economic development, traffic control, harbour facilities and public toilets. |
Properties that do not meet the definition of commercial but provided visitor accommodation for commercial reward (not properties which are used for long-term rental accommodation), such as small BnB’s, houses rented out as holiday homes and Air B&B style accommodation. |
$400 per separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit.
|
Rates are broken down into four equal installments and invoiced quarterly. The last day for payment of each installment is shown below;
- Instalment 1: 20 September
- Instalment 2: 20 December
- Instalment 3: 20 March
- Instalment 4: 20 June
If you don’t pay your rates installment on time you will receive a penalty of 10%. To help avoid penalties we recommend setting up a direct debit or automatic payment for your rates. There are several payment options including fortnightly or monthly - see 'Pay your rates' below for more information.
You can choose from the following payment options:
- Via direct debit. This is the easiest way to pay your rates, fill out the form (link below) and we'll set it up so you don't need to worry when your rates are due. This way also avoids any late payment penalties. We can set this weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly. Bank fees may apply, please contact your bank for further information on their fees and charges.
- To set up a direct debit download the form.
Then email it to rates@kaikoura.govt.nz or post it to
PO Box 6
Kaikōura 7340 - By automatic payment through internet banking. Our bank account details are:
Kaikōura District Council
02-0856-0011698-000.
Please use your Rates Valuation Reference Number found on the front of your rates notice eg: 21070/11124 - In the office - come in and see us to pay by credit card, cash or eftpos.
- We are no longer able to provide credit card payments online due to credit card scams through our online portal, because of this BNZ have ceased this option. We apologise for any inconvenience.
What is it?
To assist people on low incomes with housing costs, central government offers rates rebates if you meet certain requirements. The paperwork is done by Council and central government pays the money onto the rate account, Council then deducts the amount of your rebate from your rates bill. You must apply before June 30.
How much you can claim depends on: how much your rates are — this includes local, regional and water rates, your income, and, whether you have any dependants, such as children, living with you.
If your gross (before tax) income is $25,000 or less you can often claim the full amount The most you can get is $665 for the current year. If your income is higher you may still be able to get all or part of the rebate depending on: how much your rates are, and how many children or other dependants are in your household.
If you have dependants, your income can be $500 more for each one. For example, if you have 2 children, then you would still be able to get the full rebate of $665 if your income is less than or equal to $26,000.
You can read more about the rebates, and find an application form here.
How to apply
- Download the Rates Rebate Form - you can also ask for a paper copy of this at the front desk of Council.
- Fill it out with all the correct information
- Call 03 319 5026 for an appointment to get the application form signed by an authorised Council Officer
Council has a Rates Remission Policy which reduces the rates bill for properties in certain situations including;
- where a ratepayer is facing a significant rate increase in the capital value rates due to the 2018 revaluation
- where late payment was beyond the ratepayers control
- land protected for natural, or historical or cultural purposes
- following a Civil Defence Emergency
- Maori Freehold Land