Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Provision of water services: operational matters - Charges for water services

96: Liability for water services charges for Māori land

You could also call this:

"Who pays for water services on Māori land?"

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you own Māori land, you might have to pay for water services. This applies to Māori land that gets water services from a water organisation. The rules are a bit different for Māori freehold land and Māori customary land.

If you own Māori land with one or two other people, you are responsible for paying the water services charges. You will have to pay for the water services that the water organisation provides, except for trade waste charges. This is unless you have an agreement that says someone else is responsible for paying.

If Māori land is leased to someone, the person leasing it is usually responsible for paying the water services charges. But if the lease agreement says the owner is responsible, then the owner has to pay. The same thing applies if someone is occupying the land through an arrangement other than a lease.

There are special rules if the Māori Land Court has made an order about who can occupy the land, under section 328 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. In this case, the person the order is made for is responsible for paying the water services charges, unless the order says someone else is responsible.

If none of these situations apply, the owners of the Māori land are responsible for paying the water services charges. If the land is owned by more than two people, they are all responsible. If the land is owned by trustees, the trustees are responsible.

If someone is using a part of the Māori land that has been separated from the rest of the land, they are responsible for paying the water services charges for that part. If the land is Māori customary land, the person using the land is responsible for paying the water services charges.

This section of the law overrides any other rules that might say something different, including section 94. A lease includes any kind of tenancy, and Māori land in multiple ownership means land owned by more than two people. A trustee includes a body corporate set up under Part 13 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993.

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This page was last updated on 31 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1004392.

Topics:

Housing and property > Land useMāori affairs > Māori landEnvironment and resources > Food and water safety

95: Water services charges for separately used or inhabited parts of property, or

"Charging different water rates for separate parts of a property"

97: Rating unit on Māori freehold land may be divided into separate rating areas, or

"Māori land owners can ask to split their land into separate areas for water bill charges"

Part 3Provision of water services: operational matters
Charges for water services

96Liability for water services charges for Māori land

This section applies to Māori land in the service area of a water organisation, but—
subsections (2) to (7) apply only to land that is Māori freehold land; and
subsection (8) applies only to land that is Māori customary land.

If Māori land is owned legally and beneficially by 1 or 2 owners, the owner or owners are liable to pay water services charges, other than trade waste charges, for the water services that the water organisation provides for the Māori land.
If Māori land in multiple ownership is leased, the lessee is liable to pay water services charges (other than trade waste charges) for the water services that the water organisation provides for the Māori land unless the lease provides for the lessor to be liable to pay the water services charges.
If Māori land in multiple ownership is occupied through an arrangement other than a lease, the occupier is liable to pay water services charges (other than trade waste charges) for the water services that the water organisation provides for the Māori land unless the arrangement provides for the owners or trustees of the land to be liable to pay the water services charges.
If Māori 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 an Act replaced by that Act), the person in whose favour the order is made is liable to pay water services charges (other than trade waste charges) for the Māori land unless the order provides for the owners or trustees of the land to pay the water services charges.
If none of subsections (2), (3), (4), and (5) applies, the following persons are liable to pay the water services charges (other than trade waste charges):
for Māori land owned by more than 2 persons, other than as trustees, the owners:
for Māori land vested in trustees, the trustees.

If an area is divided from Māori land, the person actually using the area is liable to pay the water services charges (other than trade waste charges) for water services that the water organisation provides for the area.
If the land is Māori customary land, the person who is using the land is liable to pay water services charges, other than trade waste charges, for the water services that the water organisation provides for the land.
This section overrides anything to the contrary in section 94.
In this section,—
lease includes a tenancy at will, and any other tenancy that confers a leasehold interest on the tenant, whether at law or in equity
Māori land in multiple ownership means Māori land owned by more than 2 persons
trustee includes a body corporate constituted under Part 13 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993.

Compare

2022 No 77 s 327