Rating Act 2002 Overview
Overview
The Local Government Rating Act 2002 is the overarching legislation that describes in detail how rates have to be set and invoiced.
The details shown below gives a brief overview of these requirements
Liability for rates - Owner v. Lessee
The property owner is liable for the rates for the majority of properties.
The following diagram identifies exceptions to the general rule (e.g. a registered lease of 10 years duration exists which requires the lessee to be liable for the rates).
Information to be provided on notices
The Rating Act requires Councils to provide their ratepayers with significantly more information about how the rates are calculated. This information is contained in two documents. Firstly a rate assessment that details what rates the council charges together with the actual calculations of the amount a ratepayer has to pay. The second document is the invoice. This does not contain the details from the assessment; rather it shows the state of the rate account. How much might be outstanding in arrears, what the instalments amount is and how much has to be paid together with other financial information. These two documents give ratepayers the full information on their rates and the basis on which they have been assessed.
The assessment is sent out at the same time as the invoice for the first instalment, in subsequent instalments only the invoice is mailed.
Regional Council Rate and Charges
Rating Act allows Regional Council's to charge rates in the same way as District Council's and to send out Rates Assessments and Invoices directly to regional ratepayers.
To keep the regional rates collection costs as low as possible, Northland Regional Council will continue to collect regional rates through the Far North District Council's rating system, currently it retains the same rating policies as this year.
Adjacent properties
Where two or more properties are contiguous, are owned by the same person and used for the same purpose, they are treated as a one. This means that they only pay one set of uniform charges. They do, however receive separate invoices and assessments to allow ratepayers to understand the rating of the properties concerned. Note used for the same purpose has a particular meaning in law and requires that the separate parts are irrevocably joined by a common building or some other reason that would make separation difficult.
In many instances people do have contiguous properties that are not used for the same purpose. In those instances the owners may be eligible for rating relief under one of Council’s other policies.
Separately Inhabited Dwellings
The Rating Act provides for multiple separately inhabited dwellings on the same property to be charged additional rates.
Far North District Council will not be charging any additional rates for separately occupied dwellings on the same property where the additional dwellings are occupied by people employed in a job directly associated with the primary use of the property and no rental income is derived from the occupancy of the additional dwelling (eg additional farm dwellings occupied by farm employees who pay no rent, will not be charged any additional rates).
Rating of QE11 Trust Covenant properties
Land vested in a Queen Elizabeth II Trust Open Spaces Covenant now receives a full remission of rates.
It is Council’s policy the rates are fully remitted on land that is set aside under a QEII Covenant or other approved protection mechanism where the protection is in perpetuity. See Council’s Rate Remission Policy R04/11.
Page created/updated: 26 August 2009 at 10:48 am
