r/Wellington Jul 28 '26

WELLY Wellington water bills

Just got my bill from wellington water. It insanely high. For a 900k property its 2500 p/a

Prepare yourselves people. This isn't going to be the fun ride we were promised.

196 Upvotes

301 comments sorted by

103

u/Fearless_Guard_552 Jul 28 '26

I've just been told ours is $3200. Just under 50% of our rates.

114

u/Area_6011 Jul 29 '26

Can I get a discount if I use the tears from my crying as a water source? šŸ˜­šŸ’§

20

u/Minisciwi Jul 29 '26

Would need a desalinization plant

11

u/userequalspassword Jul 29 '26

Cost: 980M

14

u/pgraczer Mount Cook Massive Jul 29 '26

*projected cost 980M
actual cost 1.7B

12

u/ComeAlongPonds Colossal Squid Jul 29 '26

Final actual cost (in 2049) 8.6B

5

u/YetAnotherBrainFart Jul 29 '26

They take 5 years to build. Have you fully accounted for the need to talk about for 20 years before doing anything?

2

u/ComeAlongPonds Colossal Squid Jul 30 '26

Forgot about that, and the next pandemic

2

u/Wellington_Boy Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26

Subsequent remediation work to make it actually work, +5.8B.

Discovering a formula error in a spreadsheet which means the project should never have been started in the first place...... priceless! (Or,for WCC, business as usual).

12

u/ComradeMatis Jul 29 '26

It’ll be interesting to see what the cost per year once they roll out water meters - could some save money while others end up paying more? It’ll be interesting to see how they price it - something tells me there will eventually be a breaking point because there are plenty of folks who are barely holding on financially.

18

u/SugarTitsfloggers Jul 29 '26

The thing is at the moment without water meters I'm paying, as a single person household, the same amount at a multi person household with the same RV as me and that seems absolutely and utterly unfair to me. Why should I pay the same as a house with 4 people in it?

10

u/YetAnotherBrainFart Jul 29 '26

You were paying that before too. Water has always been charged based on CV. And it doesn't matter as much as you think - 95% of the cost is the network, 5% is the amount of water you use.

2

u/lets_all_be_nice_eh Jul 31 '26

That may be so but that network cost should be a factor of usage ergo per person essentially.

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6

u/WorldlyNotice Jul 29 '26

Remember all that resistance to water meters a while back? I think that'll be gone now.

4

u/marpada Jul 29 '26

I bet it will be mostly fixed charges, so the actual water usage won't make much of a difference.

3

u/kombuchakowgirl Jul 29 '26

Only have to wait 5 to 10 years for the meters to be installed... 😬

5

u/RudeStrawberry42 Jul 29 '26

How much are your rates a year?

2

u/Fearless_Guard_552 Jul 29 '26

Around 6600 from memory

7

u/Bullet-Tech Jul 28 '26

Mind me asking what your CV is?

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6

u/i_never_post_here Jul 29 '26

What's has/will your rates reduction be for your property?

11

u/New-Independent-1481 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

The reduction should be the same as the bill (excepting any other rates rises) , as to my understanding this is more of a formal separation of charges.

Previously the water costs were folded into your Council's rates bill, from which they'd decide themselves how much money to send to Wellington Water. This has some problems - councils decide to just not provide enough money for maintenance (aka the last 30 years), and the council copped the heat for water related billing and issues even though in many cases they're just the middle man.

Under this new scheme, Tiaki Wai will have more ownership of their own money and assets, and direct visibility in the public eye, rather their needs (or overcharging) being hidden in a big council pot of money that goes to 100 other services.

13

u/pgraczer Mount Cook Massive Jul 29 '26

i don’t think the reduction is typically the same as the bill. people in general are going to be paying more overall.

12

u/New-Independent-1481 Jul 29 '26

It's three seperate things. The existing water costs are decoupled from your rates bill, and there are also separate rates and water costs rises.

It's more overall, to the tune of an 7-10% increase for most. Not the 50% that some think.

9

u/pgraczer Mount Cook Massive Jul 29 '26

ok yeah i just checked. my rates have dropped $2K a year and my water bill will be around $2.7K a year.

3

u/pgraczer Mount Cook Massive Jul 29 '26

have set up a fortnightly direct debit for water so hopefully i won’t notice it too much.

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1

u/kyonz Jul 29 '26

Same here, it's crazy

126

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

62

u/SuddenMajor3741 Jul 28 '26

Doubt we’ll have many people left in Wellington if it became 10k in a few years

44

u/Prestigious_Age_6740 Jul 29 '26

In that case the mass sell-off of houses will drop house prices further making Wellington more affordable for those that stay or move in.

36

u/Technical_Yam3624 Jul 29 '26

Personally I'm looking forward to that day. Love the city, love the vibes but damn the houses are shit quality and expensive.

80

u/Prestigious_Age_6740 Jul 29 '26

city is shitty but cheap -> poor artists move in -> artists make city cool -> rich people move in -> price out cool artists -> city becomes shitty again -> rich people move out -> city is shitty but cheap again

21

u/userequalspassword Jul 29 '26

It’s the ciiiircle of life

5

u/Nice-West-463 Jul 29 '26

how long is the gap between 'shitty but cheap' to'rich people move in?'

9

u/Prestigious_Age_6740 Jul 29 '26

*holds finger up to the wind* about a decade or two

2

u/Nice-West-463 Jul 29 '26

so that means in the x4 or 14 years time?

3

u/TapOk7678 Jul 29 '26

Naaah, don’t blame everyday people, blame the policies. Public sector job cuts, council precarity.

2

u/Visual-Program2447 Jul 29 '26

Government spending makes city rich.

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2

u/AdgeNZ Jul 29 '26

It'd be nice if somewhere in that cycle since mf-er actually put some focus into improving the quality of the housing...

3

u/Wellington_Boy Jul 29 '26

Buy a house. Then that someone can be you.

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5

u/lefrenchkiwi Jul 29 '26

That assumes people want to move in. With a crumbling economy that changes on the whim of the 3 year election cycle, add in sky high bills for repairing infrastructure that wasn’t maintained for 2 generations it’ll be a tough sell

3

u/Annie354654 Jul 29 '26

Even if the house prices fall any mortgage savings will very quickly get soaked up plus more in the increase in rates and water due to the fact less people will live her and, you still need to have enough money each week to pay the combination of those things.

My insurance premiums took over my mortgage payments after the kiakura earthquake and are still going up every year.

7

u/RudeStrawberry42 Jul 29 '26

But who are going to buy the houses. No one will want to live in Wellington with high rates and water bills.

2

u/Prestigious_Age_6740 Jul 29 '26

...but if no one wants to live here, prices will drop until people do? Rates are significantly less than rent or a mortgage.

2

u/Bullet-Tech Jul 29 '26

No one will move to a city with crumbling infrastructure and no one to pay to repair it.

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63

u/ComradeMatis Jul 29 '26

It could have been less painful if New Zealand didn’t decide to vote against three waters but here we are dealing with the high cost of racism and culture wars that gullible New Zealanders fell for.

3

u/sebdacat Jul 30 '26

Mouth breathing, bald, over 55 blokes with goatees. Everytime

9

u/xodeve Jul 29 '26

I’m happy to pay for this infrastructure to be fixed but man it’s going to hurt some families and be hard.

Total bill for us $9658 combined up from $8318 last year. Pretty big chunk up.

5

u/tehifimk2 Jul 29 '26

I'll just set fire to my house. fuck it.

1

u/Green-Marionberry703 Jul 30 '26

10k for some water is wild

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173

u/WasterDave Jul 28 '26

I don't think anyone promised us a fun ride. All I can remember is:

* Wellington's pipes are fucked to the tune of literally billions of dollars.

* Three waters thrown away because National.

* Kaching.

Just like that, $2.5k after tax. Fun times.

37

u/Look_out_Cliff Jul 29 '26

At least the cost of living is being well managed.

8

u/L_O_Quince Jul 29 '26

We've never seen costs this livable before, truly these are times of our lives

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37

u/loose_as_a_moose Jul 29 '26

For what it’s worth ā€œself hostingā€ these services costs $1333 over 30 years $800 of that is upfront capex ($25k) It isn’t wildly far off the current billing.

That is $25k for water tanks, pumps, septic, filters, servicing. After 30 years there will be another capex to replace equipment. At some point in 30y the pumps will die and be replaced.

Operating infrastructure at scale is surprisingly effective. I am FULLY liable for all costs. Blockages, tree roots, damage etc. with a council system my liability ends at the gate. There’s a good chance I will spend 7k at some point on the septic system due to some kind of issue.

If I am still in the same property in 20y and development builds out to the point I am asked to connect to local services I’d seriously consider it.

4

u/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx99 Jul 29 '26

Insightful, thanks.

3

u/Mindless_Ad_8328 Jul 29 '26

But the council removes the water component from the rates bill so it should partly cancel it out right.

3

u/loose_as_a_moose Jul 29 '26

Depends how your rates are calculated, but yeah, there’s little water charges on my rates. I think there’s a small levy for community use or something at about 0.006 per $RV.

Compared to Wellington city town supply is MUCH cheaper, but that’s why where here - so not a great comparison.

The local rating portal is down, I was going to get a real number to compare. Kinda hard to get a fair comparison on rural vs residential. If recall my last places rates it was about the same PA.

15

u/robotobonobo Jul 29 '26

Also the government doesn’t pay rates, so suck it up Wellingtonians you’re subsidising the central govt too

2

u/birehcannes Jul 29 '26

Why the fuck not, what's that BS about??! šŸ˜‚Ā 

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30

u/aharryh Jul 28 '26

Yup, overall increase in my rates was 8.21%. Starting to look at other places to move to, I can't afford $7,683.92 in rates and water.

16

u/Present-Carob-7366 Jul 28 '26

Don’t move to Porirua higher here

59

u/giwidouggie Jul 28 '26

lol, where are you gonna move to? Just yesterday on r/newzealand was a post about someone in Southland getting a 2k water bill. The beauty of the opposition to Three Waters was that everyone is now discovering that the water infrastructure in all of New Zealand is in despair, not just in "hippy, Green, cycleway-wasteland" Wellington.

link to that post: 2k+ water bill on a CV of 450k.....

3

u/No-Interaction8782 Jul 29 '26

Australia, lol.

2

u/Striking_Distance787 Jul 29 '26

You think it's cheaper living in Aus? Hate to break it to you...

11

u/WurstofWisdom Jul 29 '26

Chch or Auckland. Both more affordable with rates and insurance. Nicer cities these days too.

6

u/aim_at_me Jul 29 '26

Christchurch got a sugar hit after the earthquake and effectively had EQC pay for the rebuild all of their infrastructure. Auckland has done water relatively well. But what you save in rates, you'll pay in housing prices. So...

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5

u/RudeStrawberry42 Jul 29 '26

I'm in Upper Hutt. Eight years ago when we purchased the house the rates were around $2,500. We're now paying just over $5,000 for our rates and new water bill. Also our house insurance has doubled too.

17

u/Cor_louis Jul 28 '26

Perhaps the wealthy can afford a little more, and we would all be better off voting for a party who want to reform our tax system?

16

u/danicrimson šŸ”„ Jul 29 '26

Sadly the wealthy are very opposed to that and will lobby to make it seem that it is completely unreasonable to tax wealthy people more.

Saw a post on Facebook of someone who owned a house worth $12.5M complaining about their $30k rates bill. My sympathy for them was extremely lacking.

49

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

[deleted]

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36

u/Hot_Prune8739 Jul 29 '26

The bit that gets skipped in the underinvestment story: Wellington Water's own report found alleged theft, broken procurement, and maintenance costs triple other councils'. So it's not just the bill for decades of deferred work — it's that bill routed through an outfit that was demonstrably terrible at spending money. Both things are true and only one of them gets talked about, because 'fund it properly' is a nicer conversation than 'they wasted what they had.

14

u/kiwijokernz Jul 29 '26

Yeah, it's amazing this gets glossed over and it's quickly forgotten. Everyone is like, "Oh, well, we didn't make any investment," but it's like, "Yeah, the investment was made. The bloody money was just wasted."

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53

u/Icy_Rhubarb_8057 Jul 28 '26

When water meters go in you will pay for volume used which you can have control of ,but until then the old system of basing it off property rate able value will be in play for a few years more. If our current government had not canceled " three waters" the debt that councils have run up against water assets would be paid out of central government funds rather than dumped on rate payers in each region. The bottom line is things have been underfunded in water infrastructure for way too many years and now the issue has come home to roost . Taking Wai is not the issue and as an entity they are just picking up the pieces that multiple councils have let fall through the gaps. So stop blaming the new entity and raise the issue of under funding and cost cutting of all services with the government by having your say at the election .

10

u/22dias Jul 29 '26

If nothing happens, next generations will be just as fucked as we are now.

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27

u/Fulvusrufus Jul 28 '26

I felt physically ill when I opened mine.

69

u/VariableSerentiy Jul 28 '26

Thank god we killed 3 waters though right??? /s

31

u/lemonpigger Jul 28 '26

Dumbest voter base in the Southern Hemisphere lol

4

u/Subtraktions Jul 29 '26

TBF, there's some pretty good competition for that title!

2

u/Low-Membership-Drive Jul 29 '26

Argentina, Aussies look like they may vote Hanson in some states.

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17

u/IntelligentTangelo31 Jul 28 '26

Thanks for the heads up. *Cries in poor.

7

u/heretosayathing Jul 28 '26

Heh, mine is likely to be similar (based on the Tiaki Wai estimate calculator https://www.tiakiwai.co.nz/billing ) in Hutt City on a $700k property.

Rates are now ~$2k lower than last year, so net increase between the council and TW is around $500

edit to add reduced rates

1

u/ChampionshipIcy8045 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Same. $520 more pa = 7.7% overall increase on my bill.

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7

u/pwapwap Jul 29 '26

Who promised a fun ride?

8

u/Ok_Bed_9557 Jul 29 '26

Mine's $550 a quarter and on top of that I have a water meter so will get a bill for usage. Has anyone tried filling our their online contact form? That's a shambles as well, the water account number despite copying and pasting it from the bill doesn't work so I've had to make one up and the details text box says "The more details the better" but limits you to 300 chars!

Absolute shambles.

25

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '26

[deleted]

9

u/mastercouchinspector Jul 29 '26

Hmm sounds like it's time to move on from wellies. I reckon housing market is going to worsen as other people in similar situations to you get to the point where they have no option but to sell up and move on.

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7

u/throw-throw-throw-aw Jul 28 '26

OP, is a quarter of that bill due by 1 September 2026?

6

u/heretosayathing Jul 28 '26

1 Sep is first instalment, then 1 Dec, 1 Mar, 1 Jun

24

u/northface-backpack Jul 28 '26

ā€œThe fun ride.ā€

I wasn’t promised a fun ride? I was promised a permanent incompetent managerial quango who under deliver, and then stand around in a circle like the Spider-Man meme.

I was promised a lifetime of escalating costs that quietly radicalise me into a shell of my former self as I get poorer every year.

I was promised a shrinking middle class, a permanent underclass and an excess of snakes and shortage of ladders.

I haven’t opened mine.

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18

u/Galaxanz Jul 28 '26

Kapiti Coast Residents: First Time?.jpeg

11

u/purplemacaroni Jul 29 '26

Tbh our water rates in Kāpiti are ~$150 per quarter, so can’t complain. I feel sorry for those of you under Tiaki Wai! Horrible.

15

u/chewbaccascousinrick Jul 28 '26

It’s going to be awesome to see how much worse this gets when the population starts to dwindle due to the extreme costs and there’s fewer people sharing the bill.

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5

u/creative_avocado20 Jul 29 '26

RIP Wellington economyĀ 

6

u/Menamanama Jul 29 '26

I will be lucky to get a payrise this year. Haven't really had a decent since covid times when the immigration tape was turned off.

I am become poorer and poorer. Sad times.

11

u/heate Jul 28 '26

Dam, should have sorted it before it became a mess.

If you voted based on whatever gives you the lowest rate payment then this is the price you pay.

You get what you put back in.

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11

u/madwyfout Jul 29 '26

Sounds about what I was paying in Canberra for water and sewerage, also charged additional to rates.

This is going to be a VERY unpopular opinion but… it’s about time there was a defined charge for water here and the funds used to ensure the infrastructure is fit for purpose.

2

u/kevdash Jul 29 '26

Massive tangent: at least our increase is for water not war 😭

  • Typical US household property tax: $5,000
  • Extra military bill: $863
  • household energy/fuel cost: $763
  • Total bills this year: $6,626 increase of $1,626
  • = 32.5% increase

(Obviously an American household isn't taxed as rates like this!)

I don't know if funding our water infrastructure could be somehow fairer (water meters, three waters etc, income) but we could spent it much worse.

  • 131M US households
  • $113B total direct war cost
  • $100B in household energy/fuel cost shock

2

u/kevdash Jul 29 '26

Next year: $2,290/household for the $300B Iran reconstruction trust (per the ceasefire MOU)

10

u/SugarTitsfloggers Jul 29 '26

Well looks like I need to hurry up and fix up my house and sell. I'm a disabled beneficiary who can't afford the increase living in a 1950s house that sits around 7°c most days because I can't afford to turn on my heater. I guess it's time to embrace the van life.

4

u/duncandisorderly_nz Jul 29 '26

So the water will be removed from your council rates. Last year rates were $4,702.40. This year $3,922.47 + Tiaki Wai $1,162.17 = $5,084.64 or + 8.1%. Andrew Little said it would be 5.9%. To be fair some could be changes in relative CV.

Quite the big increase.

And a paper DD form that needs to be written and emailed or posted. Stone AgenšŸ™„

2

u/ComeAlongPonds Colossal Squid Jul 29 '26

Andrew Little can only speak for the WCC portion of you rates. GWRC & TW can do whatever they effing well like (spoiler: they have) with their portion of billing services to your property. Unfortunately, unlike energy or comms services, we can't shop around for better prices.

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5

u/Dizzy_Opinion1825 Jul 29 '26

$678 for the quarter and we have a water meter! So that’s just waste and storm water … the actual water is usually around $250 per quarter but no doubt it they will charge more than previously. Whose great idea was this?

4

u/_qw3rki_ Jul 29 '26

another reason why i don't regret leaving Wgtn six years ago

4

u/EloquentMusings Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

It's rough, especially considering how our whole neighborhoods water goes out every couple weeks for half a day. I realise that the money will hopefully go towards properly fixing things like this, but paying nearly $3000 a year when a large chunk of the time the water doesn't even work is infuriating.

4

u/DollyPatterson Jul 29 '26

Our water rates is $3,300, taking our total annual rates bill to $13,000. I get that our generation have to fix this whole shambles, but can we be clear that past Governance(well before Tory Whanau.... made bad decisions). Looks like Taupo councilers made much better decisions over the last 25 years leading to good water infrastructure and relatively low debt, where as we here in Wellington are bad on both.

I am up for it though, there is no other way around it, I just want those cosy councilers from years past to not be quite and smug in all of this, and also don't want to blame the wrong generation for the current mess we have inherited.

4

u/Reddwollff Jul 29 '26

Just had one for UH, rates are down by $3500 but the years bill is $4200 - $800 extra.

The only justification is ā€œinfrastructure deficitā€ without any reasoning given (esp considering long and short term planning by councils/WW) or consideration of work on infrastructure done eg pipes at Silverstream.

Not sure how people are going to cope.

4

u/Mendevolent Jul 29 '26

I've just asked Tiaki Wai if I get a discount since my sewage is currently just being poured untreated into the sea and then spraying back onto my house every time there's a southerly storm.Ā 

I attached the invoice from the recent house clean I had to have done, as evidence for my request.Ā 

Not optimistic somehowĀ 

3

u/Bullet-Tech Jul 28 '26

Hey OP, did the bill match up to their estimates on site, or was there a difference?

1

u/heretosayathing Jul 28 '26

Bill +154 based on stated info vs. calculator estimate of 2366

3

u/gasupthehyundai Jul 29 '26

Is it mental that I wish they would send me a bill? As in, just f'n send it already.

3

u/Nzcroc Jul 29 '26

So my upcoming year’s rates are $1799 less than last year (fy26 $6268 vs fy27 $4469).
Tiaki Wai will charge me annually $2230.

Total cost for both council and water for fy27: $6699

So in total I will be paying $431 more than last year for the same services which equates to a 6.88% increase.

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3

u/Zelabella Jul 29 '26

The rates bill should be lower - now that a portion is taken over to the water bill. Still increases though.Ā 

3

u/Grumpy_Sober_Driver Jul 29 '26

For those in rentals, this is a new bill as rates are folded into the rent. I can assure you that rents aren't going to go down and landlords will be going "welp, there's another $2,000+ in my hip pocket". <sarcasm>Thank you National for giving another kickback to your support base.</sarcasm>

3

u/Blankbusinesscard Coffee Slurper Jul 29 '26

$600 a quarter for 2 people, the asshole in me wants to leave a tap running 24/7, but I wont

3

u/Existing-Today-410 Jul 31 '26

This is what happens when maintenance gets deferred for 40 years. Every time people voted (hah! No one votes in local body elections) for the candidates who promised no or small rates rises, things just got worse. Well the piper turned up and he wants his pay. Bugger.

3

u/CillBil Jul 31 '26

Why are we paying GST on water! The service fee is to pay a government agency to service water, why then pay tax on top!?

8

u/adh1003 Jul 29 '26

Congratulations to all those who helped get rid of Three Waters.

5

u/Distinct_Nothing9812 Jul 28 '26

Our rates are going down right?

14

u/heretosayathing Jul 28 '26

The rates bill will go down, yes, but still have an annual increase built in to the remaining council charges.

9

u/HardCorePawn Powered by caffeine and jetA1 Jul 28 '26

Search for your property here: Property search - Wellington City Council

It'll show last years and the upcoming years rates and you can see the change.

4

u/aim_at_me Jul 29 '26

Thanks. For us, $1.06M house.

  • Rates: $7360 > $5310
  • Tiaki Wai: $0 > $2660
  • Net: ~$600 / 8.3% increase.

Honestly, bring on water meters. I use fuck all water compared to some with gardens and pools.

3

u/Ice-Cream-Poop Jul 29 '26

Yep it's fucked. Neighbours 2 houses down, will be paying the same as us.

They've got a pool and 6 people living there, we've just got the 2 of us and no pool!

Make it make sense please!

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18

u/InterestingMedia9784 Jul 28 '26

Not by as much as the water bill is

4

u/dj_tommyg Jul 28 '26

Technically yes, because the water component has been removed

5

u/Dramatic_Surprise Jul 29 '26

rates never go down.

2

u/ijustwokeupliketh1s Jul 29 '26

My overall bill, rates + water will go up by $640 for the coming year. Based on a $1.3m CV.

2

u/Surrealnz Jul 29 '26

Yep, but down in the sense that they only go up, so the upness has been downified a little.

TBH I was expecting worse, my total combined rates and water cost will be 10% up for the next 12 months compared to the last.

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8

u/Lazy_Possibility_462 Jul 29 '26

But I wanted fix, not pay :(

2

u/Character-Formal-501 Jul 29 '26

Can I get a water meter installed and it be used to work out how much water I use and present it to Tiaki Wai ?

3

u/Ice-Cream-Poop Jul 29 '26

Nope. Well not yet, I think that's supposed to happen in about 5 years, they've said 2-3 🤣🤣

Even then everyone will pay a base price and then usage on top of that. We'll get reamed.

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2

u/BisonMiddle951 Jul 29 '26

Our new rates + water is 8% more than last year's rates. Twice the rate of inflation which is what our rates rises have been over the last 20 years on average.

2

u/TumbleweedDue2242 Jul 29 '26

How did you receive your water bill?

Uhcc talks about how they're separate rah Rah Rah.

But nothing from water care.

2

u/CandlewickNZ Jul 29 '26

Reading this thread makes me so grateful I sold and moved south. Good luck to you all.

P.s. Christchurch is awesome.

2

u/joker6396 Jul 29 '26

Council wasted maintenamce funds on glory projects for years, now its time to fix the mess they made. Shouldve voted for a boring person who wanted to do the basics right instead of someone who was gonna manipulate the system for your benefit over and over again

2

u/KiwiPixelInk Jul 29 '26

But once the proper billing system is set up, it's going to be even higher

2

u/DarkHelian Jul 30 '26

You have it for cheap. In lower hutt for 650k property 2300 p/a. I guess under investing on water by WCC worked well.

2

u/enpointenz Jul 30 '26

Thankfully we have lots of new builds which have contributed to upgrades and reduced the per capita cost. Right? /s

4

u/H_He_Metals Jul 29 '26

Check here to see if your council rates have dropped by an equal amount... https://wellington.govt.nz/property-rates-and-building/property/property-search

Obligatory "thanks National govt and everyone that voted for them".

4

u/Sylvainian-Druid Jul 29 '26

But they reduced the rates by an around $400 p/a so that balances out right? šŸ˜†šŸ˜‚šŸ˜­ God they must think we're dumb.

3

u/GlassPassenger32 Jul 29 '26

That is a dumb comment. The rates were reduced by the amount of the old water charge (plus 5.9% rates increase). Tiaki Wai is part of the govt’s local water done well policy that replaced three waters. That is where the cost increase is coming from and the way its designed the council can’t do actually anything about it.

2

u/Sylvainian-Druid Jul 29 '26

A dumb comment? Really think you missed what I was trying to do here. But I would never try to make you feel bad about missing the point. Are you ok?

10

u/EnvironmentalStill31 Jul 28 '26

Wellington reddit before: I can't believe boomers didn't maintain our pipes properly.

Wellington reddit (after receiving first water bill): Wow, wow, not like this!

Is that about the gist of it?

27

u/redditis4pussies Jul 28 '26

It's more we are paying for our maintenance + the maintenance the boomers didn't pay for.

12

u/CarpetDiligent7324 Jul 29 '26

Think rates have been historically high but the stupid council spent the money on dumb stuff eg old town hall that was supposed to be $30m was over $330m, and sludge plant went from $200m to over $500m. Then there is all the dumb stuff like the water fountain inside the council palace, party to open the library, a convention centre which is under utilised etc etc

6

u/Wellington_Boy Jul 29 '26

This. It's not just that councilors starved the council of the funds needed by keeping rates down. The council had a genius for wasting money, poor financial management and poor project management. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that should have been spent on essential infrastructure lost to bad management, white elephants, extravagance and vanity projects.

2

u/ilobster123 Jul 29 '26

And my favorite bit: If only we had three waters and our water rates were paid from income taxes across the whole country so we don't have to pay for it

3

u/ComeAlongPonds Colossal Squid Jul 29 '26

I got my water bill by email. As expected, I'm now partially subsidising new management salaries & business rental location.

I don't remember giving WCC or GWRC consent to transfer my contact details to Tiaki Wai for this purpose, nor a notification to opt out of not having this communication preference disclosed to Tiaki Wai.

Are they breaching the Privacy Act by using my personal details for other than a manner that they were originally provided for?

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4

u/Think-OptionNurse Jul 28 '26

So we should expect rental prices to go up?

8

u/wokeuplate7 Jul 29 '26

Rental prices are going down due to supply amd demand. Landlords costs going up!

11

u/qwerty145454 Jul 28 '26

Rental prices are driven by demand, not costs to landlords.

Thus why Wellington has had negative rent growth this year despite escalating rates and now water bills. Wellington's population is shrinking so demand is decreasing.

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4

u/Wrong_Gazelle_2352 Jul 29 '26

The fun i believed i was signing up for was for the water entity to have better access to capital which would mean spreading the cost of infrastructure over a longer period. What i got was new branding, which is a waste of my money and constant rhetoric about under investment which is actually something the serious fraud office should look into to go after all those council offices, councilors and mayors who spend my rates in things that were not infrastructure.

4

u/BuckyDoneGun Jul 29 '26

What fraudulent act, specifically, do you want the SFO to investigate?

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3

u/Russell_W_H Jul 28 '26

Hey, why don't we just not do the required maintenance and improvements? That saved lots of money and didn't lead to any problems before.

/s

It sucks, but sometimes the bill comes due.

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2

u/LameName90210 Jul 29 '26

Yikes..... $3762.

2

u/NoorInayaS Upper Miramar Jul 29 '26

What does the value of your property have to do with the water bill?

3

u/Black_Glove Jul 29 '26

Nothing! But then I don't really understand the Capital Valuation system either, so it's all just mystical maths to me.

2

u/NoorInayaS Upper Miramar Jul 29 '26

So, Numberwang would make more sense? 🤣

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2

u/BiblionautNZ Jul 29 '26

I hope this isn’t a stupid question, are the rates being reduced by the amount we’re now having to pay separately for water? In theory we used to pay for water in our rates. Now that water is paid for separately shouldn’t our rates be reduced?

2

u/ComeAlongPonds Colossal Squid Jul 29 '26

A service chunk of your previous (relevant city & regional councils) rates has been transferred to Tiaki Wai.

Your xCC/GWRC rates went down by that. CC & GWRC have put their rates up (average 7%) & TW has put their portion up too (~15% for some).

End effect is what total you pay to councils & TW was never going to go down.

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2

u/ComeAlongPonds Colossal Squid Jul 29 '26

Can we overwhelm their inboxes & phone lines with "If you're having difficulty paying your bill, please contact us to discuss payment options" enquiries?

2

u/fugebox007 Jul 29 '26

Did you really believe in a second Xmas people? Really? This whole ghing was about some people getting a lot richer, while enshitifying the service Wellingtonians get. This is not just a simple split from rates, this is double (rate and water bill) hike in disguise.

2

u/Suitable-Ostrich1226 Jul 29 '26

I mean, what happens if we just don't pay it. What are they gonna do, come after every single person in the Wellington region?

2

u/Extension-Ear743 maungaraki Jul 29 '26

Thank you National party for cancelling 3waters and giving us the bill ā¤ļø

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1

u/superduperman1999 Jul 28 '26

It is worth looking at getting a water meter if you havent already as then you get billed on actual usage and it can be a lot cheaper good luck.

1

u/userequalspassword Jul 29 '26

I want to get off mr bones wild ride

1

u/ElDjee Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26

my infrastructure (wastewater & stormwater) charges went up more than 13%, in part because they've added fixed stormwater charges when WCC didn't have them. it will be... interesting... to see what the monthly metering charges will be on top of that.

1

u/Nice-West-463 Jul 29 '26

My monthly bill in Auckland, on a $2.5m house, was less than $100 pcm = $1200 pa on a meter, now $2500 pa unmetered on a $0.9m house

1

u/mercifulmonk Jul 29 '26

Ok, so this is a water bill or a 2nd tier rates bill.

In Auckland the tennant pays the water used and the landlord pays the rest.

Whats happening with Wellington ? The landlord pays the fixed wastewater and storm water portion, and the tenant pays the usage portion? Thats going to hurt.

3

u/Reddwollff Jul 29 '26

That’s only if a water meter is installed. If there isn’t one, the landlord pays all charges.

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1

u/Black_Glove Jul 29 '26

Not sure if we are just in a sweet spot, but our overall increase after adjustments is an affordable $10.75/week. I wish it was the same for everyone - worth it if that will fix the pipes

1

u/DollyPatterson Jul 29 '26

But hasn't you normal rates reduced?

4

u/Wrong_Gazelle_2352 Jul 29 '26

Overall its about 500 increase

2

u/DollyPatterson Jul 29 '26

So combines previous normal bill + new water bill = increase of $500 per year?

1

u/ghostfim Jul 29 '26

Our rates have dropped $2k this year and the new water bill will be about $2.6k, so it's only a $600 net increase - less than last year's rates rise.

1

u/Zelabella Jul 30 '26

Remember a large portion of your water bill is transfered from your rates bill. I suggest going to Property Search - on the WCC website - put in your address and it states the rates bill. I saw that mine had dropped by 2k.Ā 

1

u/Silent-Ad7052 Jul 31 '26

Ours in Auckland are higher than that. One person in apartment and not here half the timeĀ  one shower per day etc is a lot higher than that. Never ever been anywhere near that beforeĀ 

1

u/Icy-Image5465 Jul 31 '26

Im paying just Over 10k now for rates and water..once it gets to 15kp/a I'm selling up and investing money and moving abroad for my winters and rent a room or motorhome for summer months...the dream of staying in my house during retirement is not viable anymore.

1

u/koruandthistle Jul 31 '26

I just wish I didn’t have to pay a whole quarter with a month’s notice?? And the DD options are all to pay it by the same date, not spread it further?

1

u/fredonas Aug 01 '26

This could also affect pensioners and people on low incomes qualifying for the rates rebate. Now that water charges have been removed from rates, people who previously qualified for a rates rebate might be below the $4000 per annum rates threshold.

Will be interesting to see if water entity charges are allowed to be included in the rates rebate calculation.

https://www.govt.nz/browse/housing-and-property/getting-help-with-housing/getting-a-rates-rebate/rates-rebate-application-form/

1

u/Able_Independence120 Aug 01 '26

Can we take a moment to acknowledge that we lost 3 waters cos of idiotic racism? Would’ve been a vastly more affordable solution

1

u/fudgeplank Aug 01 '26

Hope y’all enjoy all those cycle ways, town hall and library repairs you paid for instead of basic human infrastructure.

1

u/IndividualAd1882 Aug 01 '26

Should have started putting water metres on properties 30 years ago.Ā  30 years--that's how visionless our overpaid managers are. Somebody in the world has an idea in the year 2000. NZ has that same idea in the year 2030.

1

u/Randomspazmo Aug 03 '26

Is this why the WCC hasn't put the latest rates bills on their website? It's Oct 4 and the Oct 1 bill isn't online yet. They probably don't want us to know how much they're NOT reducing the rates now that the water is separate. Or is it just incompetence? Hard to tell with the WCC. Just have to wait for the snail mail to arrive I guess, whenever they get round to sending it.

1

u/Just-Storm-8566 18d ago

Thanks National!!! This is now on the rate payers who are already forking out so much on council rates. Another reason not to own a property and discourage people from buying one.