Property and Rates FAQs

You can use our online database to find out the latest information that we have on your property, or you can contact the Rates team directly on 06 857 7738.

You can phone our Rates team directly on 06 857 7738 or email rates@chbdc.govt.nz and they will assist you with your enquiry.

Every council in New Zealand must complete a revaluation of all properties in its area at least every three years in accordance with the Rating Valuations Act 1998. Central Hawke’s Bay District Council’s last revaluation was in 2021.

We contract Quotable Value Ltd (QV) to carry out the revaluation of properties in our district.

Rateable values are used as a base for setting general rates, land transport rates and stormwater rates. Every property in the district has been valued as at 1 September 2021. Any further market increases after this date can’t be taken into account. Rateable values comprise three components:

1. Capital value – the probable sale price for the property on 1 September 2021. This doesn’t include chattels.
2. Land value – the probable price paid for the land on 1 September 2021.
3. Value of improvements – the difference between the capital and land values.

Rateable values are not designed to be used as market valuations for raising finance or as insurance valuations. 

QV’s systems and processes are independently audited by the Valuer-General.

QV reviews all sales over recent months then uses mass appraisal techniques to apply these to similar properties. They’ve also reviewed properties for which building consents have been issued. Owners of non-residential properties have been surveyed to obtain up-to-date information about rental income.

An increase in your property value may not mean you pay more in rates. The revaluation does not impact the total value of rates that Council collects, but it does impact how this value is spread between ratepayers. Where a property's valuation changes in line with the market, you should see no difference; however, it is not unusual for farm values to move at different rates to urban values, which causes redistribution of rates (some upwards and some downwards).

Residential property and lifestyle property (particularly that situated close to town) values have increased significantly, with much of the growth driven by land value increases, and section prices at unprecedented levels.

While rural and commercial properties have also increased in value, the average increases have on average been much less than urban properties.

This has caused a shift in the underlying rating database, which is used to spread the rates burden across the district. For example, in 2018 the rural sector bore 69 per cent of the Land Transport Rate because it accounted for 69 per cent of the total district's land value. This has fallen to 64 per cent in 2021. On the flip side, residential properties made up 13 per cent of total land value in 2018, whereas now they make up 19 per cent.

As house prices have continued to rise over the past three years, there has been a trend to seek out what were traditionally affordable towns across the district as people have become priced out of main urban centres. This has caused towns such as Ongaonga and Tikokino to increase in value faster (in percentage terms) than Central Hawke's Bay’s main townships of Waipawa and Waipukurau. While properties in these townships still remain more affordable than the main towns, the relative gap has closed.

This closing gap has meant that these smaller, rural towns now account for a larger percentage of the district's property values than they did traditionally, meaning that they too will pick up a larger percentage of the rates burden.

It is important to remember that a district revaluation (as being undertaken by QV here) doesn’t in itself mean that Council’s rates requirement change. What it does affect is how the rates are spread across the district. In every revaluation, properties that go up in value faster than the average can expect to pay more in rates, while properties that go up in value less than the average can expect to pay less in rates. Properties that sit right on the average will remain rates neutral.

Your property’s capital and land values are just one of the elements used to calculate your share of the district's rates. Properties are also charged ‘targeted’ rates, which relate to services available to your property.

The new values will be used as the basis for setting and assessing rates as from 1 July 2025.

When you receive your Notice of Rating Valuation in early 2025, you have the right to object if you believe the new valuations for your property do not fairly represent its market value. Details showing how to do this will be available on the notice and online.

If you wish to find out more about your rating value and compare it with others in your neighbourhood, you can look on the QV website.

For enquiries about new valuations, you can call QV on 0800 787 284 (0800 QV Rating).

For enquires relating to rates, you can call our team anytime on 06 857 8060 or email rates@chbdc.govt.nz. 

Rate payments are made in four instalments between July 1 and June 30 each year.

The last day for payment of each instalment of rates are 20 August (first instalment), 20 November (second instalment), 20 February (third instalment) and 20 May (fourth instalment).

There are many different ways you can pay your rates so we encourage you to read from the list below and select the easiest and most reliable method of payment for you.

Direct debit

Pay your rates by direct debit by setting up the payment schedule here.

Credit card

Pay your rates using your credit card via our third-party payment gateway Windcave. 
Click here to pay your rates online using your credit card.

Automatic payment

Click here to set up an automatic payment for your rates.

Internet banking

You can pay your rates via Internet banking but please ensure you enter the exact account number and rates details to ensure your payment is receipted to the correct account. Please enter the following details:

• Particulars: Enter the word 'Rates'
• Code: Enter your surname
• Reference: Enter your valuation number

In-person at our Council offices

Pay your rates and other Council accounts by visiting our Council offices on Ruataniwha Street in Waipawa, or our Waipukurau Pop-up Service Centre at the Railway Station on Bogle Brothers Esplanade. Please note, we no longer accept payment for any Council accounts or rates by cheque.

As well as paying rates to us, you are required to pay rates to Hawke's Bay Regional Council. You can pay your regional council rates at our Council offices in Waipawa and at the Waipukurau Pop-up Service Centre at the Railway Station on Bogle Brothers Esplanade.

We understand that for some people, your rates invoice will look like a bunch of numbers on a page! We want to help you understand what all those numbers mean, to give you confidence in what you are paying for. Take a look at the guide below and if you have any questions, please call our Rates team any time on 06 857 8060, they are here to help you.

We have marked up a copy of a rates statement here to help you understand how rates are invoiced.

Yes, Council will contribute to costs if it is within the requirements of the Fencing Act 1978. However, this does not apply to fences on road reserves boundaries or where a covenant exists absolving Council from contributing. You can read more about this here, Consumer Online - Fencing Law, legal rights.

You can find out more information about disputes on the following website: Disputes Tribunal: Simple Justice

For guidance on rules and rights around fencing between properties, visit the Consumer Online website and read about fencing laws and legal rights.

Council has no height restrictions on trees, either in the District Plan or in our bylaws, and does not become involved in issues relating to trees on private property, unless they are obstructing parts of public footpaths or roadways. You read more about how to address a problematic tree with your neighbours, and your legal rights, on the Consumer Online website.

You can read more about managing disputes here: Disputes Tribunal: Simple Justice

No. Council will not pick up leaves that have blown on to private properties, and equally will not require property owners to pick up leaves that blow from their properties onto Council reserves or road reserves.

No, we only register protection orders for trees on Council land; however, you may enter into a private covenant to protect your tree. For information on how to enter a protection covenant, contact our Planning team on 06 857 8060.

Council is required to ensure that there is 4.2 metres clearance over the carriageway and 2.4 metres over the footpath. Council is responsible for its own trees/vegetation in this regard and property owners are responsible for theirs. When we receive a complaint regarding overhanging private vegetation, a standard letter is issued to the owner/occupier as appropriate. This is followed by a house visit if necessary. If there is still no result, Council will organise a contractor to carry out the work at the owner's cost.

It is Council policy that trees shall not be topped or removed for the protection of views. Topping trees invariably leads to further problems later, as the resultant re-growth of branches is significantly weaker and prone to breaking in high winds.