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Local Government (Rating) Act 2002

Rating information database and rates records - Rating information database

28: Inspection of rating information database

You could also call this:

"Checking the council's rating information database is free and open to the public"

Illustration for Local Government (Rating) Act 2002

You can look at the rating information database at the main office of your local council or at another place the council chooses. The council picks this other place to make sure everyone in the district can easily access the information. You can inspect the database during normal office hours or when the place is open to the public.

When you look at the database, you will not see people's names unless it is necessary to identify a rating unit or separate rating area. You also will not see any addresses except for the street address of the rating unit or separate rating area.

You do not have to pay to look at the database, but you might have to pay a small fee if you want a copy of the information. Your local council must tell the public that the database is available to look at, and where and when you can see it, every May. The council can also tell ratepayers about the database at other times and in different ways if it wants to.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM132255.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councilsHousing and property > Land use
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27: Rating information database, or

"A list of properties and their rates, like a big book with all the details."

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28A: Inspection of complete rating information database, or

"You can view the council's rating information database for free at their main office."

Part 2Rating information database and rates records
Rating information database

28Inspection of rating information database

  1. The rating information database must be available for inspection—

  2. at the principal public office of the local authority and any other place that the local authority considers necessary in order to provide reasonable access to all ratepayers and residents of the district; and
    1. during ordinary office hours or the hours at which the place is open to the public.

      1. The copy of the rating information database that is made available for inspection must not include the name of any person (unless it is necessary to identify the rating unit or separate rating area) or any address other than the street address of the rating unit or separate rating area.

      2. No fee is payable for inspecting the rating information database, but a person may be charged a reasonable fee for being supplied with a copy of the particulars.

      3. The local authority must, during the month of May, give public notice that the rating information database is available for inspection and of the place and times it may be inspected.

      4. In addition to the notice required under subsection (4), a local authority may notify ratepayers at any other time it considers appropriate and by any means it thinks fit.

      Notes
      • Section 28(2): amended, on , by section 13 of the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 12).