Rates overhaul proposed to target Wellington landbanking

Monday, 21 July 2025

Wellington city councillor Geordie Rogers reveals the Green Party's plan for rates in Wellington to incentivise housing.

The Green Party and its closest mayoral candidate have independently come up with near-identical housing policies by targeting land banking with a promise of lessening future rates rises.

The policy, rolled out separately by independent candidate Alex Baker and Green Party councillor Geordie Rogers and other Greens candidates, would see the council change its rating system to be based on land value, rather than the value of land plus whatever is built on it.

Baker, who insisted he had not designed his policy with the Green Party, of which he is a member, said it would drop the amount of rates increases needed in future years by about four percentage points for many.

This was because large greenfield areas in northern Wellington, where there was now incentive to slowly drip-feed them to market, would pay a significantly higher rate. There were also areas, such as near-derelict homes in Newtown, that would also see an increase. But overall, the median rates increase across Wellington would be reduced.

Pukehīnau/Lambton ward councillor and Green Party affiliate Geordie Rogers says he wants to reform the capital’s rates system in a way that targets landbankers - while offering relief to the capital’s ratepayers. (File photo)

Similar to the rest of the region, Wellington’s rates have soared, with the council confirming a 12% rates increase - this year meaning the average ratepayer is expected to shell out an extra $632 a year.

Wellington City councillor Rebecca Matthews, formerly Labour, now Green, first got the ball rolling with a notice of motion to get council staff to look at changing to land value rates. But this got delayed when staff had to focus on an unscheduled long-term plan amendment in the past year.

“Next term we will push for it to happen, and for a ratings system that is not only more equitable and discourages land banking, but incentivises the denser and more affordable housing our city is crying out for,” Matthews said.

Rogers, of the Green Party, also wanted to provide rates relief through reforming the capital’s rates system to target landbankers.

Independent mayoral candidate Alex Baker said his policy, near identical to the Green Party’s, was arrived at independently.

The Wellington City Council last year introduced a similar policy to increase rates for abandoned buildings in the central city, in an effort to get owners to take action, but this policy would roll it out citywide.

Rogers said it would mean approximately 60% of Wellingtonians being hit with smaller rates increases than planned.

Rogers said the reforms the Green Party have proposed would also include increased investment for housing infrastructure.

“Where is the development going to happen in Wellington City, and where does it need to happen? And how can we target the delivery of infrastructure so it's the most affordable as possible, and also delivering the best value by enabling the most homes. We plan to do that through a spatial plan in the next term as well,” he said.

Councillor Diane Calvert, who recently put her hat in the ring for mayor, said Wellington’s housing challenges wouldn’t be fixed by rating systems which ignored the city’s complex reality.

Steep terrain, seismic risks to heritage overlays, ageing infrastructure, high construction costs, and the need for a ready market were some of the current issues the city was grappling with, she said.

Mayoral candidate councillor Diane Calvert says the city’s complex housing reality requires practical solutions. (file)

“Punishing people with higher rates won’t get more homes built and not all underdeveloped land is a problem.

“These properties often use fewer services and put less pressure on our infrastructure. We need smart, workable tools that reflect what’s actually happening on the ground.”

Fellow mayor hopeful Andrew Little said he thought the council needed to make sure that land zoned for housing was being well-used.

Increasing higher density housing would make housing more affordable, and Little said he was committed to seeing council work with developers to accelerate this.

Mayor hopeful Andrew Little says building higher density housing in Wellington would make the city more affordable. (file)

Sometimes developers held back because the council’s plans for an area were uncertain, he said.

“The starting point is for the council to be clear on its plans, including public transport.

“Otherwise, where land owners are holding land highly suitable for residential development but with no plan to use it then I am in favour of incentives, such as a rate loading, to encourage more productive use of the land.”

Mayoral prospect Ray Chung - who recently came under fire for a damning email about Mayor Tory Whanau - said the Green Party’s proposal would not work for Wellington ratepayers or the city council.

Mayoral prospect Ray Chung says the Green Party’s proposal would not work for Wellington ratepayers. (file)

Landowners who had yet to decide how and when they will develop their properties would find themselves paying more in rates, he said.

While the cost of rates was important for all land and property owners, when it came to making a commercial decision on whether or not to build, this wasn’t the major consideration, he said.

“It’s a tax that will not achieve its objective. This policy for Wellington city is built on false ideology that anyone who gets ahead should pay more.

“The party fails to identify the root cause – high rates are caused by poor spending decisions by council, not because of a lack of income.”

He said a council under his mayoralty would make sure there were “the right incentives” for commerce to thrive in Wellington and do the economic heavy-lifting to grow the city.

“It’s not the council’s role to be meddling in market forces as proposed by the Green Party.”