FAQs
- providing relief from rates to charitable organisations where the land is used principally for sporting, recreation or community purposes.
- contributing to district sustainability through providing relief to property owners who have voluntarily protected land or buildings of natural or cultural heritage value.
- postponing payment if ratepayers are experiencing severe financial hardship and/or older.
- ensuring homeowners who live in commercial or industrial zoned areas are not unduly penalised.
- On a residential property, each separately habitable unit, flat, house or apartment.
- On a commercial property, each separate space intended to be used as a shop or other retail or wholesale outlet, other than that used by the owner.
- In an office block, each space intended to be used as offices that is or would be used by a different business from the owner.
- Community Centre/Library Rate
- Representation and Community Leadership
- Solid Waste Disposal
- Aquatic Centres
- Wastewater
- Water Supply.
- A SUIP of a rating unit includes any portion inhabited or used by the owner/a person other than the owner, and who has the right to use or inhabit that portion by virtue of a tenancy, lease, licence, or other agreement.
- This definition includes separately used parts, whether or not actually occupied at any particular time, which are provided by the owner for rental (or other form of occupation) on an occasional or long-term basis by someone other than the owner.
- Any part/s of a rating unit that is used or occupied by the ratepayer for more than one single use.
- For the purpose of this definition, vacant land and vacant premises offered or intended for use or habitation by a person other than the owner and usually used as such are defined as 'used'.
- For the avoidance of doubt, a rating unit that has a single use or occupation is treated as having one separately used or inhabited part.
What is a rates remission?
A rates remission is a reduction in the amount of rates owed, or waiving the collection of rates altogether.
Once Council has set the rates for a given rating year, and they have been applied across the properties in the district according to the policies approved, a Rates Remission is the only way the total amount due on a property can be reduced.
Why do you have rates remission?
This enables us to mitigate the effects of any inequities in our rating system, promote social wellbeing, and help conserve our district's natural, historic and cultural resources.
What are the reasons why rates may be remitted or postponed?
Council’s across the country adopt their own Rates Remission and Postponement policies depending on the circumstances of their district/city. Some common remission examples are:
What is a SUIP?
SUIP stands for separately used or inhabited part. SUIPs are listed in Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 as one of the factors that may be used in calculating liability for targeted rates.
Examples of Separately Used or Inhabited Parts include:
Horowhenua District Council currently uses SUIPs as a factor in the following rates:
How does Council define a Separately Used or Inhabited Part (SUIP)?
Council defines an SUIP in its funding impact statement, published as part of the Annual or Long Term Plan each year.
Where rates are calculated on each SUIP of a rating unit, the following definitions will apply:
What is the meaning of contiguous properties in part 14 of the Rates Remission & Postponement Policy?
Contiguous rating is a legislative requirement under Section 20 of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002. This requires Council’s to treat two or more rating units as if they were one for rating purposes if those units are:
(a) owned by the same person or persons; and
(b) used jointly as a single unit; and
(c) contiguous or separated only by a road, railway, drain, water race, river, or stream.
This is most commonly applied in the rural sector whereby various pieces of land, under different certificate of titles, are owned by the same person and used for a single farm operation.
What is Remnant of Land in part 5 of the Rates Remission & Postponement Policy?
Some parcels of land are incapable of independent development by virtue of their small size, irregular shape, landlocked or remote location, nominal rateable value or nil potential uses. These parcels are commonly referred to as “remnant land”.
What is a rates postponement?
A rates postponement is a way of delaying the payment of your rates. Rates postponement can help you if you are on a fixed income and cannot afford to pay your rates, or if you have a financial hardship that makes it difficult for you to pay your rates.
However, rates postponement does not mean that you can avoid paying your rates. You still have to pay them eventually, and the amount will increase over time due to interest and administration costs.
What is the total amount of rates postponements that the Council will approve?
The Council have proposed a cumulative total of rates postponed up to 0.5% of operating income. For the 2023/24 financial year this limit is planned to be approximately $360,000.
Do properties that get a rates postponement have to pay their own interest costs and costs of administration or do other ratepayers have to fund that?
The ratepayer who has the postponement will be responsible for paying those costs, this will form part of the agreement with the ratepayer before the postponement is confirmed.