Public consultation opens for Hastings District on proposed amendments to rating valuation legislation following Cyclone Gabrielle

Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) with support from the Hastings District Council is consulting on proposals to temporarily amend rating valuation legislation following Cyclone Gabrielle.

The process would see property values set as at 1 August, 2022. This would enable the Council to complete its three-yearly property revaluation before the required deadline of 30 June 2023 without the need to assess cyclone damage as part of the process.

The Government is consulting the public on this proposal which would be brought into effect by an Order in Council under the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act 2023.

Hastings District Council has a District Valuation Roll which is a record of the rating valuations of all properties in its district. The roll needs to be updated every three years through a general revaluation and maintained between revaluations.

The Council, through its contracted valuer QV, was still working on its 2022 revaluation of property values when Cyclone Gabrielle hit the Hawke’s Bay in February 2023.

The Rating Valuations Act 1998 requires valuations to reflect the physical state of properties at the time new values are released to the public.

This means that without an amendment to the Act, all properties that were damaged in the cyclone would need to be identified, inspected and accurately valued to reflect their physical condition before 30 June 2023.

The Council and its valuers have requested the Order in Council as it is not feasible to carry out this work nor is there any reliable market evidence for damaged properties on which to base valuation conclusions within that timeframe.

The proposed amendments would still allow the Council to continue to consider the provision of rates relief for cyclone-damaged properties in its district.

The amendments would continue in effect until 30 June 2026 or the implementation of the next general revaluation after June 2023, whichever happens sooner.

The amendments sought are similar to those applied following the Christchurch and Kaikōura/Hurunui earthquakes when local councils were unable to meet revaluation requirements due to the impact on properties.

The consultation is open until 5pm, Tuesday 9 May 2023.

Find out more about the consultation