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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

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

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

You could also call this:

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

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you own Māori freehold land, you can ask a water organisation to divide your land into separate areas for water services charges. The water organisation can do this for the purpose of charging you for water services. They will follow rules from the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002, but they will replace some words to make the rules fit water services charges.

When the water organisation applies these rules, they will replace "local authority" with "water organisation". They will also replace "rates" with "water services charges". This means the rules will work for water services charges instead of rates. You can ask the water organisation to divide your land if you want separate water services charges for different areas.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1446515.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councilsHousing and property > Land useMāori affairs > Māori landEnvironment and resources > Food and water safety
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96: Liability for water services charges for Māori land, or

"Who pays for water services on Māori land?"

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98: Limitation on trustee liability for water services charges, or

"Trustees only pay water bills from land income, not their own money"

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

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

  1. For the purposes of water services charges, a water organisation may divide a separate rating area from a rating unit on Māori freehold land on the request of a person in accordance with this section.

  2. For the purposes of subsection (1), sections 98A to 98E of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 apply with all necessary modifications, including the following:

  3. each reference to a local authority must be read as a reference to a water organisation; and
    1. each reference to rates must be read as a reference to water services charges.