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Local Government (Rating) Act 2002

Rating of Māori freehold land - District valuation rolls

92: Recording name of ratepayer

You could also call this:

"Who pays rates for Māori land is recorded by the local council"

When Māori freehold land is owned by one or two people, their names must be recorded as ratepayers. You will find their names in the rating information database and the district valuation roll. This is how the local council keeps track of who owns the land.

If the land is leased to someone, the lessee's name is recorded as the ratepayer, unless the lease says the owner is responsible for paying the rates. You can find more information about leases in section 328 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. The local council will use this information to decide who pays the rates.

If the Māori Land Court makes an occupation order for the land, the person named in the order is recorded as the ratepayer. You can find more information about occupation orders in Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. The local council will use this information to decide who pays the rates.

If none of the above situations apply, the local council will record the owners' names or a description of the owners as the ratepayers. For example, if the land is owned by more than two people, it will be recorded as "the owners". If the land is owned by trustees, their names and designations will be recorded.

If a separate rating area is created from a larger area, the person using the separate area will be recorded as the ratepayer. This is according to section 98A. The local council will use this information to decide who pays the rates for the separate area.

A lease includes a tenancy at will or any other tenancy that gives the tenant a leasehold interest. A trustee includes a body corporate set up under Part 13 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. The local council will use these definitions to decide who pays the rates.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM132771.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councilsMāori affairs > Māori landHousing and property > Land use
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91: Liability of Māori freehold land for rates, or

"Māori freehold land owners pay rates just like other land owners."

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93: Limitation on trustee liability, or

"Trustees of Māori land only pay rates from the land's income, not their own money."

Part 4Rating of Māori freehold land
District valuation rolls

92Recording name of ratepayer

  1. If Māori freehold land is owned legally and beneficially by 1 or 2 owners, the names of the owners must be entered as ratepayers in the rating information database and the district valuation roll.

  2. If an entire rating unit that comprises Māori freehold land in multiple ownership is leased, the name of the lessee must be entered as the ratepayer in the rating information database and the district valuation roll, unless the lessor advises the local authority, or the lessee produces proof, that the lease provides for the lessor to be liable to pay the rates.

  3. If an entire rating unit that comprises Māori freehold land in multiple ownership is subject to an occupation order made by the Māori Land Court under section 328 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 (or an equivalent order made under a former provision), the name of the person in whose favour the order is made must be entered as the ratepayer in the rating information database and the district valuation roll, unless the order provides for the owners or trustees, as the case may be, to be liable to pay the rates.

  4. If subsection (2) or subsection (3) do not apply, the following names or descriptions must be entered as ratepayers in the rating information database and the district valuation roll:

  5. for Māori freehold land owned by more than 2 persons who are not trustees, the words the owners:
    1. for Māori freehold land vested in trustees, the names and designations of the trustees.

      1. If a separate rating area is divided from a rating unit under section 98A, the person actually using the separate rating area must be entered as the ratepayer in the rating information database for the separate rating area.

      2. For the purposes of this Part,—

        lease includes a tenancy at will, and any other tenancy that confers a leasehold interest upon the tenant, whether at law or in equity

          trustee includes a body corporate constituted under Part 13 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993.

          1. Subsection (1) is subject to section 11.

          2. Subsections (2), (3), (4), and (4A) override section 11.

          Notes
          • Section 92(4A): inserted, on , by section 42(1) of the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 12).
          • Section 92(7): amended, on , by section 42(2) of the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 12).