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Local Government (Rating) Act 2002

Rating of Māori freehold land - Charging orders

103: Charging order in favour of owner paying rates

You could also call this:

"Getting back extra rates you paid for Māori land you own with others"

If you own Māori freehold land with others and you have paid more than your share of the rates, you can ask the Māori Land Court for a charging order. This order would be for the extra amount of rates you paid, which is called the excess amount. The court can make this order if they are satisfied you paid more than your share.

You can only get this order if the court is satisfied that all reasonable steps have been taken to get the rates from the people who should pay them. This includes the local authority trying to get the rates from the trustees if the land is vested in trustees, or from the person who is liable to pay the rates because of section 96. The local authority must have tried to recover the rates from that person and been unable to do so, or it must be unlikely they will be able to recover the rates.

If you are using the land, as defined in section 96, you cannot ask for a charging order, even if you paid more than your share of the rates. The Māori Land Court will look at your situation and decide if you can get a charging order. They will consider all the circumstances before making a decision.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM132791.

Topics:
Māori affairs > Māori landHousing and property > Land useGovernment and voting > Local councils
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102: Charging order must be registered, or

"You must register a charging order from the Māori Land Court to make it official."

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104: Effect of charging order, or

"What happens when a charging order is made: you need permission to use your land"

Part 4Rating of Māori freehold land
Charging orders

103Charging order in favour of owner paying rates

  1. An owner of Māori freehold land in multiple ownership who has paid the rates on that land may apply to the Māori Land Court for a charging order against the land for the excess amount of rates paid by that owner.

  2. In this section, excess amount, in relation to an owner, means the amount paid by an owner in excess of the rates properly apportionable to that owner’s interest in the land.

  3. The Māori Land Court may make a charging order in favour of that owner for the excess amount if the court is satisfied that the amount paid by the owner is an excess amount.

  4. Despite subsections (1) to (3), the court must not make an order unless it is satisfied,—

  5. if the land is vested in trustees, that all reasonable steps have been taken by the local authority to obtain payment of the rates from the trustees; or
    1. if a person is liable to pay the rates because section 96 applies, that—
      1. the local authority has taken proceedings against that person to recover judgment for the amount of the rates, or an appropriate portion of the rates, and has been unable to recover the amount of the judgment; or
        1. having regard to all the circumstances of the case, those proceedings are unlikely to result in the rates being recovered.

        2. Subsection (1) does not apply to an owner who is actually using the land, as defined in section 96.