How rates are decided

The rates you pay for the coming year are decided as part of the Long-term Plan and Annual Plan process.

How rates are decided

As part of preparing for each Long-term Plan or Annual Plan, we ask for your views about the spending we’re planning and the amount we may need to charge ratepayers. The rates payable in the coming year are decided at the end of this process.

All property owners pay rates, including government departments and Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities. You can read about each year’s spending outcomes in our Long-term Plan.

Our rates must meet the requirements of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002. Non-rateable land and 50% rateable land are defined in Schedule 1 of the Act.

How property valuations affect rates

Our independent contractor Quotable Value carries out property valuations for Porirua City every three years. Quotable Value works out the value of your property by looking at the selling price of similar properties in the area. The last revaluation was based on property values as at 1 October 2022. 

If you think of rates as a pie, the size of the pie doesn’t get bigger because of the new valuations. However, a ratepayer’s slice of the pie might get bigger or smaller depending on how their property value has changed in relation to the average change of valuations in the city. The total amount of rates collected stays the same.

This will be updated with information about rates for 2024/25 after the rates are set on 27 June 2024.

Key facts about rates 2024/25

  • The average rate increase across the city is 17.50% to existing ratepayers. The table below provides a breakdown, by rating type, which shows the effective rate change by both % and $ value of the median capital value of each category. Individual increases will vary based on the capital value of your own property. All amounts expressed include GST calculated on the basis of the prevailing rates at the time of supply.
  • On average, 47% of your rates are used to pay for roading, wastewater, stormwater and water supply. The rest of the money goes on providing parks, cemeteries, emergency management, libraries, arts and culture, waste management and recreational services.
  • Fees paid by users also help to fund many other services, such as building and resource consents, provision of kerbside rubbish bags and venue hire.
Average rates increases in 2024/25
Group Average
increase
Average
increase  $
Change
per week in rates
% $ $
Residential
Lower quartile 17.77 692.20 13.31
Median 17.96 781.47 15.03
Upper quartile 18.17 908.99 17.48
Vacant section 17.17 391.00 7.52
Other groups
Rural (less than 50 Ha) 18.07 989.78 19.03
Rural (50 Ha
& greater)
18.10 1,015.63 19.53
Hongoeka community 15.44 306.46 5.89
Commercial 18.16 2,154.36 41.43
Industrial 18.22 2,351.51 45.22
Motels 14.14 4,591.06 88.29
Shopping plaza 17.38 29,675.98 570.69
Vacant land/ derelict building 55.50 3,735.07 71.83

Comparison between 2023/24 and 2024/25 rates by category

Group Average capital value 2023/24
rates
2024/25 projected rates Average increase
$ $ $ %
Residential 800,000 4,350.61 5,132.08 17.96
Rural less – than 50 Ha 1,940,000 5,482.32 6,472.95 18.07
Rural – 50 Ha & greater 1,820,000 4,576.29 5,389.60 17.77
Hongoeka 695,000 2,009.60 2,320.82 15.49
Commercial 705,000 9,294.06 10,963.01 17.96
Industrial 970,000 12,154.79 14,364.21 18.18
Motels 3,175,000 30,994.39 35,397.69 14.21
Shopping
Plaza
11,300,000 143,418.20 168,424.59 17.44
Vacant land/ derelict building 467,500 6,730.20 10,465.26 55.50

What your targeted rates are made up of for 2024/25

Wastewater Water Recycling UAGC Total
Targeted rates $789.91 $699.64 $100.01 $425.00 $2,014.56