Queenstown Lakes District Council says the district’s ratepayers will receive their new rating valuations and payment options very soon. 

Councillors approved an average annual rates increase of 6.5 percent for the upcoming financial year at a full council meeting last Thursday (September 1).

This exceeds QLDC’s previous self-imposed maximum increase of six percent.

In addition, while the 6.5 percent increase is an average across the whole of the Queenstown Lakes district, the average increases to residential rates in Wānaka-Albert Town and Hāwea are expected to be higher still.

For instance, the average increase in rates this year for a median value Wānaka residence is 7.93 percent (around $253); for the same in Hāwea there will be an increase of 7.3 percent (around $195).

QLDC general manager finance legal and regulatory Stewart Burns said the impact of the rates increase for 2022-2023 will not be even across locations “largely because of the impact of the district revaluation and of targeted rates which are often ward or scheme based.”

He said the rates increase was in line with the forecasts made in the 2022-2023 Annual Plan, and they also reflect the latest three-yearly district revaluation with rates assessments for this year based on valuations from September 2021.

“Although the total capital value has grown by around 52 percent, the impact of the revaluation on rates is more pronounced for some types of property,” he said.

“In simple terms, if a property experiences a rating value change of significantly more or less than the 52 percent average, rates payable will change up or down according to the degree of difference,” he said.

Setting council rates is a procedural item that effectively closes the 2022-2023 Annual Plan process and the funding for the programme of works it sets out.

More information about rates and how they are set, including answers to some frequently asked questions, can be found on the council website.

PHOTO: Supplied