Council approves fee changes for property services

Fees for LIM reports and property files are being adjusted to address rising operational costs that have created a gap between the fees charged and the true cost of providing the services.

Currently, the user-pays charge covers 53 per cent of the cost of producing property files and 69 per cent  for LIM reports. This has resulted in a growing reliance on rates income to cover the true cost of providing property files and LIM reports.

The changes will increase the fee for obtaining LIM reports from $319 to $395 and property files from $26 to $33.50. The fee increase will shift the portion paid by the user for both property files and LIM reports to 85 per cent.

Elected members approved the amendment to the Fees and Charges Schedule 2024/25 at October’s council meeting and these will take effect from 11 November 2024. They will remain in place for the remainder of the 2024/2025 rating year.

In making the decision, councillors agreed that the increase is necessary to ensure statutory services remain as close to cost-neutral as possible and do not place additional burdens on ratepayers. This acknowledges the council’s mandate to recover costs for services provided.

The change brings fees charged by Far North District Council to within a similar range charged by many other councils across the country. Fees and charges will be reviewed again for the 2025/26 Annual Plan.

You can find more information about property services here.