Find out how your rates bill has changed this year.

In 2023/2024 the Council set rates to collect $679.8 million (excluding GST).

This year rates rose on average 6.41% for existing ratepayers, excluding the forecast remitted portion of the new City Vacant general rate differential, since those remissions are returned directly to the ratepayers who paid the rates.

A typical ratepayer owning an average size house (with a rating value of $764,364) will pay $65 per week in rates (including GST).

The actual increase in rates for individual properties varies depending on factors such as:

  • a property’s rating value
  • whether it is classed as residential, business, remote rural or city vacant.
  • How many 'separately used or inhabited parts' (SUIPs) the property has. Fixed rates are paid based on the number of SUIPs. For example, a property with two flats will pay two fixed charges. Most residential properties have only one SUIP.
  • The extent to which the property’s capital value has increased in the 2022 revaluation relative to other properties.

We also collect rates on behalf of Environment Canterbury(external link), which sets its own rates. They are not included in these figures but will appear on your rates invoice.

The rates for 2023/2024 are shown in the table below. There are 18 separate rates. A ratepayer typically pays some but not all of these. The rules for each rate are set out in the Council's Funding Impact Statement. As an illustration, we have shown the amount that would typically be paid for each rate for an average house with a capital value (CV) of $764,364.

Rate name Rate Units Rate paid for an average house ($, incl GST)
General Rate: Standard 0.211986 cents per $ CV 1,620.34
General Rate: Business 0.470608 cents per $ CV
General Rate: Remote Rural 0.158989 cents per $ CV
General Rate: City Vacant 0.958811 cents per $ CV 0
Uniform Annual General Charge 153.00  $ per SUIP*  153.00
Water Connected  0.067836 cents per $ CV 518.51
Water not Connected  0.033918 cents per $ CV
Land Drainage  0.035731 cents per $ CV 273.11
Sewerage  0.075347 cents per $ CV 575.93
Waste Minimisation  184.75 $ per SUIP* 184.75 
Waste Minimisation (Part)  138.56 $ per SUIP*
Restricted Water Supply  390.00 $ per SLOS**
Fire Connections  125.00 $ per connection
Active Travel  20.00  $ per SUIP* 20.00 
Heritage (Cathedral)  6.52  $ per SUIP* 6.52 
Central City Business Association 392.36 $ per rating unit 0
Heritage 0.001886 cents per $ CV 14.42
Heritage (Arts Centre) 0.000416 cents per $ CV 3.18
 Total     3,369.76

* SUIP: This means a Separately Used or Inhabited Part of a rating unit.

**SLOS: The restricted water supply rate paid for each Standard Level of Service (SLOS) received by a rating unit.


Examples

We show below some examples of how rates vary depending on capital values. Examples are shown for three kinds of property: a standard, business and remote rural property.

Standard

We assume this ratepayer pays the following rates: General Standard, Uniform Annual General Charge, Water Connected, Land Drainage, Sewerage, Waste Minimisation, Active Travel, Heritage (Cathedral) and Heritage (Arts Centre).

Capital value $ 2023/2024 rates ($, incl GST)
200,000 1,150
400,000 1,937
500,000 2,330
600,000 2,723
700,000 3,117
800,000 3,510
1,000,000 4,296
1,500,000 6,262
2,000,000 8,228

Business

We assume this ratepayer pays the following rates: General Business, Uniform Annual General Charge, Water Connected, Land Drainage, Sewerage, Waste Minimisation, Active Travel, Heritage (Cathedral) and Heritage (Arts Centre).

Capital value $ 2023/2024 rates ($ incl GST)
200,000 1,668
500,000 3,623
1,000,000 6,883
1,500,000 10,142
2,000,000 13,401
2,442,382 (average business) 16,284
2,500,000 16,660
3,000,000 19,919
5,000,000 32,955

Remote rural

We assume this ratepayer pays the following rates: General Remote Rural, Uniform Annual General Charge, Land Drainage, Waste Minimisation (Part), Active Travel, Heritage (Cathedral) and Heritage (Arts Centre).

Capital value $ 2023/2024 rates ($, incl GST)
200,000 640
500,000 1,125
800,000 1,608
1,000,000 1,931
1,557,204 (average rural)  2,830
2,000,000 3,544
3,000,000 5,157
5,000,000 8383