Rates

Hastings District Council’s rates are charged based on a property’s land value, rating area and applicable targeted rates.

Property values are supplied byQuotable Value Limited

The collection of rates enables Council to pay for programmed works and services detailed in the district’s Long Term and Annual plans. Rates are levied as a tax on property in compliance with the statutory provisions of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.

For details of the rates for the current financial year (including categories and costs), see theRates Charges page of our website.

1. Rating areas
2. Differential rating

General rate

Two factors are used to determine the share of the general rate charged to individual properties
1. Rating areas
2. Differential rating

Rating areas

Hastings District is divided into two rating areas: Rating Area One Urban and Rating Area Two Rural.

The rating areas are based on
• The Department of Statistics broad definition of an urban area.
• The relative closeness of urban-based facilities and therefore the opportunity to make regular use of them; within an approximate 10-15 minute drive of central Hastings.
• Hastings District Council planning zones, which govern the ways land can be used.

The costs of Council’s various activities are shared out to the two rating groups using formulae which reflect, as near as possible, the costs of providing services to each of these areas. In particular, some costs (within the Community Services Group) are charged at a reduced rate to Rating Area 2 (rural) to reflect remoteness and therefore less access to these facilities.

The differential system

Within each rating area in the district, the Council recovers the general rate requirement on a differential basis, calculated on the land value of a property.

Differentials are used to allocate costs between different groups of properties based on the broad level of service and benefit they receive. The higher the differential, the greater the perceived level of service and benefit those groups of properties receive.

Uniform annual general charge

Council also levies a uniform annual general charges across all rating units in the district. The rate applies to each separately used or inhabited part of a rating unit. The activities paid for from the charge are: Leadership Rate Collection, Civil Defence (50%), Economic and Social Development (65%), Waimarama Seawall (10%) and Wastewater Treatment (20%).

Targeted rates

Targeted rates are charged in addition to the general rate, based on things like connection to services such as water, wastewater and storm water, and access to services including refuse and recycling. They can, where applicable, include specific items such as inspections for properties with private swimming pools, business support rates or car parking rates.

How property values effect rates

The share of general rates is based on a property’s land value. So when a property’s land value changes, it can impact on the 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 withQV by visiting their website.

Contact

For more information on your rates, please contact our rates department on phone or email (rates@hdc.govt.nz).

Payment Options

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 2022/2023 financial year (June to July) are
• 26 August 2022
• 25 November 2022
• 24 February 2023
• 26 May 2023

The proposed rates for each year are released in May.

There are a number of ways you can pay your Hastings District Council rates. We want to make it easy for you. Here are your options

Pay Online

Have your property number handy and pay your rates 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.

Direct Debit (EASYPAY)

• Save time and avoid late fees by setting up an EASYPAY direct debit to pay your rates, debtor accounts and water meter accounts (but not dog fees).
• EASYPAY allows a payment to be automatically deducted from your bank account.
• Contact us at any time to cancel or suspend the authority for current rates.
• For changes to rates arrears payments using EASYPAY please contact us.

An EASYPAY direct debit can be set up by completing the online application form or by printing out and completing the hard copy form (in the related documents at the top of this page).

Online Direct Debit Application Form

In Person

Pay your rates 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 throughout New Zealand. Locally, this can be done at
  • NZ Post Shop Hastings Paper Plus Hastings, 100 Heretaunga Street West
  • NZ Post Shop Flaxmere, Flaxmere Pharmacy, Swansea Road
  • NZ Post Shop Havelock North, Whittakers 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.

As the Council has several different functions, payments made must be specific to the account to which they are to be credited.

Details supplied for telephone or Internet banking to the Council must therefore be set out as:

Where one transfer is made for several accounts – for example three rate accounts, a water account and a building application – we can process these if a schedule isemailed
on the day the payment is made marked: ‘Attention Bank Management Officer’.

Additional charges for late payments

A penalty of 10 per cent will be added to any portion of rates or portion of water supplied by meter assessed in the current year which remains unpaid by the relevant instalment due date.

Any portion of rates in previous years (including previously applied penalties) which remain unpaid on 19 July 2021, will have a further 10 per cent added, firstly on 20 July 2021 and, if still unpaid again on 20 January 2022.

Any portion of water supplied by meter assessed in previous years (including previously applied penalties) which remain unpaid on 20 July 2021, will have a further 10 per cent added, firstly on 22 July 2021 and, if still unpaid again on 26 January 2022.

Payment plan

If you think you are going to have trouble paying your rates on time, please do not hesitate to contact Council to discuss the issue; phone 871 5000 and ask for the rates team.