Sign In / Register
Homeowners will face a 7.9 per cent rates rise next month under Auckland Council’s Annual Plan 2026/27, with the average residential household expected to pay about $321 more a year.
Council confirmed the increase on May 26, saying it struck a balance between maintaining essential services, investing in infrastructure and managing financial pressures.
However, the increase was not supported by Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers who abstained from the vote as a protest against the 7.9 per cent rise. Earlier in the debate, Cr Sayers supported an amendment by Cr John Gillon that operational savings be raised from $106 million to $166 million so that the rates rise could be limited to 5.9%.
The amendment was lost.
Cr Sayers said later that the rates increase could have been less if a targeted rate had been used to pay for the City Rail Link (CRL). He said city residents who would significantly benefit from the CRL should be paying for it, not Rodney ratepayers.
Averages
For an average residential property valued at $1.28 million, the 7.9% increase will mean a rates rise from $4057 to $4378, equating to an additional $6.16 a week. Council officials stressed that while the average increase was 7.9 per cent, rates bills varied according to property values and targeted rates applying to individual properties.
However, the huge increases some Mahurangi property owners faced last year, as a result of new valuations, will not be repeated.
Council estimates indicate that around 94 per cent of unchanged residential properties will see rates increases within one percentage point of the 7.9 per cent average.
No unchanged residential property is expected to receive an increase above 10 per cent, with exceptions limited to properties affected by developments, changes in land use, or alterations to services such as rubbish collection.
Business owners will see larger increases. Rates on an average-value business property, valued at $3.869 million, are set to rise by 10.47 per cent. Farm and lifestyle properties, with an average value of $2.277 million, will see rates increase by 8.36 per cent. Individual properties in both categories may also be affected by specific targeted rates.
The annual plan includes several targeted rate changes including a 50 per cent reduction in the Rodney Drainage District targeted rate for properties in the Te Arai Drainage District, and inflation-related adjustments to several local board and compliance targeted rates.
Rates account for about 40 per cent of council’s income and help fund a broad range of services including libraries, pools, parks, roads, footpaths, public transport, stormwater management, environmental programmes and waste collection services.
Among the major projects highlighted for the coming year is the anticipated opening phase of the CRL, described by council as a transformative investment in Auckland’s public transport network.
Council also plans to invest $3.9 billion in new capital infrastructure projects and spend $5.3 billion on operational services during 2026/27.
To help offset costs, council has set a savings target of $106 million for the coming financial year, including an additional $20 million in annual savings. Council said the savings programme, alongside asset sales, value-for-money reviews and efforts to grow non-rates revenue, has helped limit the size of the rates increase.
Support remains available for ratepayers struggling to meet payments. Options include the government-funded rates rebate scheme, rates postponement arrangements for residential properties and flexible payment plans.
Aucklanders will receive their official 2026/27 rates notices in August.
