Rates Remission and Rates Postponement Policies

Properties that have been deemed uninhabitable (red stickered) as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 have been granted a rates remission. Usually, we ask homeowners to apply for this. But in the case of this cyclone, we automatically granted a rates remission during the period people’s properties are officially marked as uninhabitable.


Our Rates Remission and Rates Postponement Policies are revised every time we develop a new Long Term Plan (every three years).

The policies include:

  • rates penalties (overdue rates etc.)
  • rates on unusable land
  • rates on abandoned land
  • rates on land held for conservation or preservation purposes
  • rates on community, sporting and other non-profit organisations
  • rating units containing two separately habitable units
  • excess water consumption
  • wastewater charges for schools
  • rating units occupied/owned in common
  • postponement of rates from extreme financial hardship
  • postponement of rates for ratepayers aged 65 years and over
  • remission of rates on Māori freehold land
  • postponement of rates on Māori freehold land
  • untreated metered water supply in the Thames Valley
  • land subject to a zone change
  • exclusion of campgrounds and other multi-unit facilities for area of service from solid waste collection
  • miscellaneous purposes
  • remission for residents of Licence to Occupy Retirement Villages.
  • land affected by natural calamity or fire