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Local Government (Rating) Act 2002

Assessment, payment, and recovery of rates and remission, postponement, and write-off of rates - Remission, postponement, and write-off - Power of chief executive to write off rates

90B: Chief executive may write off rates of deceased owners of Māori freehold land

You could also call this:

"Council can cancel unpaid rates on Māori land when the owner has passed away"

The chief executive of your local council can decide to write off some or all of the unpaid rates on Māori freehold land. This can happen when the person who owned the land has passed away and someone else has inherited their interest in the land. The rates that can be written off are the ones that the deceased owner was supposed to pay before they died, and the ones that the new owner is now supposed to pay.

When the council decides to write off some rates, they have to tell the person who is responsible for paying the rates. You can find more information about this in the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Act 2021.

If the council writes off rates, it means the new owner does not have to pay them.

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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=LMS485651.

Topics:
Māori affairs > Māori landGovernment and voting > Local councils
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90A: Chief executive may write off rates that cannot be recovered, or

"Council can cancel rates that can't be paid back"

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90C: Chief executive may delegate power to write off rates, or

"Council boss can let someone else decide to cancel rates"

Part 3Assessment, payment, and recovery of rates and remission, postponement, and write-off of rates
Remission, postponement, and write-off: Power of chief executive to write off rates

90BChief executive may write off rates of deceased owners of Māori freehold land

  1. The chief executive of a local authority may, in respect of a rating unit of Māori freehold land, write off all or part of the outstanding rates that—

  2. are payable by a person beneficially entitled to a deceased owner’s beneficial interest in the land; and
    1. were payable by the deceased owner at the death of the owner.

      1. The local authority must give notice to the ratepayer of any write-off.

      Notes
      • Section 90B: inserted, on , by section 41 of the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 12).