Auckland Council’s Governing Body has approved rates relief for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 rating years for Tāmaki Makaurau properties that are uninhabitable due to storm events and severe weather events in the first half of 2023.
On 27 July, the Governing Body agreed to provide a 100 per cent rates remission for 2023/2024 for properties uninhabitable as a result of recent severe weather events with a further remission of 100 per cent in 2024/2025 for properties that remain uninhabitable as at 30 June 2024.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says that this year’s extreme weather has led to some Aucklanders experiencing financial hardship and they have lost the use of their home. Until their rating value is updated to reflect the damage caused by the storms we will continue to provide them with rates relief.
This rates relief aims to address this and ensure that rates are charged fairly, over the next two rating years.
“Since January this year, Tāmaki Makaurau has experienced five extreme weather events. These have caused flooding and land instability throughout the region, with a devastating and lasting impact on many communities and individuals.
“We are very aware of the financial hardship experienced by many of those impacted. By engaging with those with uninhabitable homes, this rates relief is targeted at those who need it most.”
How much will it cost and how will it be funded?
The council estimates that the cost of these remissions is estimated to be between $1.2 and $3.0 million in 2023/2024. However, rating these properties based on the valuations presently in the rating database would be inequitable.
“As rates have already been set for 2023/2024 we cannot spread the foregone rates across all other properties so the relief will be debt funded this year. However, the remission for 2024/2025 will be rates funded requiring a rates increase of up to 0.14 per cent,” says Peter Gudsell, Auckland Council Group Chief Financial Officer.
What rates pay for
Property rates help us provide the things that make Auckland a great place to live and work and make up about 40 per cent of our funding.
This equates to about $2.5 billion of the funding for services like collecting rubbish, improving public transport, organising and facilitating events, maintaining parks and running our libraries and other community facilities.
We continue to invest more than ever in communities, delivering more facilities and infrastructure.
Additional financial support
In the last rating year, Auckland Council paid out around $1.3 million in rates relief to properties left uninhabitable as a result of the flood and cyclone events. However, financial support for storm-impacted Aucklanders is not limited to rates relief.
Alongside this and previous rates remission, there has also been $25.7M in civil defence emergency payments made to 40,926 Aucklanders, including a significant contribution to Māori and Pacifica and, as of 28 April 2023, 104,580 grants.
The Government has also announced $10M in Temporary Accommodation Assistance from 4 September 2023. Those displaced from their homes by the extreme weather events will be able to receive interim financial support when insurance payments for temporary accommodation run out.
Recovery is well underway with 284 red placards closed out or downgraded, 556 yellow placards closed out or downgraded and 4293 white placards closed out.
As of 25 July, there are 324 red placards, 1641 yellow placards and 4 white placards.
We know that for some people, rates are a considerable cost, whether affected by this severe weather or not.
If anyone is concerned about being able to pay rates, we encourage them to get in touch with our credit control team to discuss the options available, including a rates postponement scheme and flexible payment options. More information is on our website and our credit control team can be reached on rates.collections@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
