Rates 2020/21
Kāpiti residents should receive their first rates instalment for 2020/21 either in the post or by email by the third week of August.
This instalment, and the next three notices you’ll receive, keep the rates increase at an average of 2.6 percent across the district for 2020/21.
A copy of the Rate Setting paper (Rates resolution) for 2020/21 is available here.
Your rates are based on the rateable value of your property and are used to help pay for the costs of services and facilities provided to the community. A property with a higher rateable value will pay more rates.
Some of your rates payment also goes to Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Frequently asked questions
What if I don’t use some of these services or facilities?
Why is my rates increase higher than 4.8%?
What do our rates which go to Greater Wellington Regional Council pay for?
How can I find out what my property valuation is?
Rates help to pay for the costs of services and facilities provided to the Kāpiti community. For example:
Street lighting, waste water, storm water, solid waste, coastal management, roading, libraries, swimming pools, community halls, sports halls, cemeteries, public toilets, social housing, works depots, emergency operations centre, parks and open spaces, cycleways, walkways and bridleways, planning and development, dog registration, noise complaints and projects including the Paekakariki sea wall, Mahara Gallery and Waikanae library, Paraparaumu and Waikanae town centre and earthquake prone building assessments.
What if I don’t use some of these services or facilities?
Rates pay for services and facilities that are either critical (i.e. wastewater management) or deemed beneficial to the community as a whole – often the things that make our district a more desirable place to live. We recognise not everyone will use every service or facility on offer, and where possible we look at other forms of revenue such as development contributions and ‘user pays’ – e.g. subsidised swimming pool entry fees.
In 2020/21 our property rates have increased by an average of 2.6% across the district to cover the cost of providing our services, facilities and continue progressing the priorities that came out of the 2018-38 Long Term Plan.
The key drivers of the rates increase for 2020/21 are the work programme already included in the 2018-38 Long Term Plan, changes in the operating environment including new central government requirements (such as proposed new requirements and regulations as part of the Drinking Water & Safety resilience programme) and increased costs of managing assets. Additional COVID-19 related funding has also been included to support ratepayers and businesses affected financially by COVID-19 and to support Council's Recovery Plan Actions. Detailed information can be found in the 2020/21 Annual Plan.
Why is my rates increase higher than 2.6%?
Rate assessments for individual properties are driven by their land and capital value. Approximately 52% of rates are allocated on property value. This means higher valued properties will have higher rates.
While we have the fourth lowest total operating spending per ratepayer out of 67 councils, a high proportion of our costs is funded by rates.
We rely principally on rates to fund our services and maintain those services, and to cover the costs of inflation. Some of our costs – including the cost of infrastructure such as roads – are going up faster than household inflation.
What do our rates which go to Greater Wellington Regional Council pay for?
In general these rates fund: public transport – trains and buses, river management and flood protection, possum and predator control, emergency management, environmental education and sustainability, land management, regional parks and forests.
We are aware some of our community has financial constraints. We have a rates remission policy for those whose rates exceed 5% of their household income. Applications can be made to Council from January each year. Additionally, there is also a government rates rebate scheme for low income home owners.
Homeowners facing extreme hardship may get a reduction in their rates, or we can look at postponing payments. More information on rates remissions.
How can I find out what my property valuation is?
You can find out what your property valuation is or we can confirm the new valuation amount over the phone.
Alternatively, you can go to Quotable Value and order a copy of a valuation for your property. Please note, Quotable Value charges a cost for this.
Back to top