More Auckland households than expected face rates rises above the 2.5 per cent threshhold

Tuesday, 10 July 2018

More Aucklanders than previously thought will face rate rises above the mayor's 2.5 per cent target when their new bills arrive.

An additional 54,993 homes will be above the 2.5 per cent line, compared with a forecast seven months ago made before Auckland Council debated its budget in detail.

A majority of Aucklanders, or 57 per cent, will find their rates at or below the 2.5 per cent increase.

This year's bills will change not only because of higher rates, and new additional targeted rates, but also because of the removal of a flat transport levy which is replaced by regional fuel tax of 11.5 cents-a-litre.

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Nearly 10 per cent of ratepayers - 46,235 households - will see their rates rise more than10 per cent when they receive their rate notifications in coming weeks.

The comparisons look at last year's general rates and the Interim Transport Levy, versus this year's general rate and the new Water Quality and Environment targeted rates.

Several changes occurred in the budget-setting process, including settling on a natural environment targeted rate, higher than initially proposed.

Mayor Phil Goff campaigned on keeping overall general rates rises no higher than 2.5 per cent, while also calling for the introduction of a fuel tax to help fund transport projects.

The overall increase in general rates is set to rise by 2.5 per cent this year and next, and forecast to go up by 3.5 per cent beyond that.

The rates burden will also be shared differently across Auckland when the bills go out next month.

Parts of the city where the value of properties rose more than the citywide average of 45 per cent between 2014 and 2017, will pick up higher than average rates rises.

These properties are mostly in the south and west, where there was a bigger surge in the value of lower-priced homes.

'Areas that will be seeing more increases are those outer suburbs which saw significant increases in their CV and caught up with the 2014 revaluation – such as Papakura, Ōtara-Papatoetoe and Waiheke,' said Andrew Duncan, the manager of financial policy.

In the previous three years, property values had generally risen more sharply in the more expensive suburbs.