Where Do Your Christchurch Rates Actually Go in 2025/26?

Rates & Budget | By Harpreet Singh | 1 July 2025 | 10 min read

A complete breakdown of how your rates are spent -- from three waters infrastructure to parks and libraries. Find out exactly what your weekly contribution funds.

Every year, Christchurch City Council collects rates from roughly 162,000 ratepayers. In 2025/26, the average residential property (Capital Value around $830,000) will pay approximately $4,449 per year -- or about $85.56 per week. That is a 6.6% increase on last year. But where does all that money actually go?

This guide breaks down every dollar of your rates so you know exactly what you are paying for. If you want to see the breakdown for your specific property, use our rates calculator to enter your CV and get a personalised weekly summary.

The Big Picture: $1.7 Billion in Operating Spending

Christchurch City Council's total operating budget for 2025/26 is approximately $1.7 billion. That covers everything from filling potholes to running libraries, from treating wastewater to maintaining 900+ parks and reserves. Rates fund about 60% of that -- the rest comes from fees, charges, development contributions, subsidies (especially from NZTA for roads), and investments.

On the capital side, the council's Long-Term Plan maps out $5.2 billion in capital projects over 10 years. That is the biggest capital programme of any New Zealand council outside Auckland. A huge chunk of it goes to replacing earthquake-damaged infrastructure that is now 14 years overdue.

Breaking Down the 31 Cents: Three Waters

The single biggest spend category is "Three Waters" -- that is your drinking water supply, wastewater (sewerage), and stormwater drainage. Around 31 cents of every rates dollar goes here.

Why so much? Christchurch sits on one of New Zealand's best groundwater systems, providing naturally pure artesian water. But the pipes that deliver it -- and the pipes that take wastewater away -- were severely damaged in the 2010/11 earthquakes. The city is still catching up on pipe replacements. Council manages approximately $8 billion worth of water assets, including:

• 1,700+ km of water mains
• 1,600+ km of wastewater pipes
• 915 km of stormwater pipes
• 45 stormwater pump stations
• 710 treatment basins and wetlands

The wastewater treatment plant upgrades alone cost $172 million. The three waters pipe renewals programme is spending $148 million replacing aging pipes across the network. And the Akaroa wastewater scheme, one of the most complex small-town infrastructure projects in New Zealand, is finally nearing completion at $35 million.

If you want to understand why water infrastructure is such a big deal, read our deep dive on why Christchurch is spending $2 billion on water infrastructure.

18 Cents: Roads and Transport

18 cents of every rates dollar goes to roads, footpaths, cycleways, and public transport infrastructure. Christchurch's transport network is valued at over $3 billion. The road and footpath renewals programme spends $95 million annually just on resurfacing and repairs -- and even that is not enough to keep up with deterioration.

Major transport projects in 2025/26 include:

• Wheels to Wings Cycleway ($45M) -- connecting Papanui to the airport
• South Express Cycleway ($22M) -- connecting southern suburbs to the city
• Mass Rapid Transit Planning ($8M) -- scoping Christchurch's first rapid transit system
• Active Travel & Road Safety ($60M programme) -- pedestrian crossings, speed management, school safety zones

NZTA (Waka Kotahi) subsidises about 45% of transport capital spending, but NZTA subsidies came in $11.2 million lower than forecast in the current Long-Term Plan. That shortfall has to be made up from rates and borrowing.

Want to see how Christchurch rates compare to other cities? Check our city comparison tool which ranks all six major metro councils.

15 Cents: Parks, Pools, and Recreation

Christchurch has over 900 parks and reserves covering 9,200 hectares -- more green space per capita than almost any other city in Australasia. Maintaining all of that takes about 15 cents of every rates dollar.

The big news in 2025/26 is the opening of Parakiore Recreation & Sport Centre -- New Zealand's largest indoor aquatic and sport facility. With a 50-metre competition pool, dive pool, five hydroslides, nine indoor courts, and a gym, it expects 2 million visits per year. The total project cost was approximately $500 million, delivered by Crown Infrastructure, with CCC contributing $148 million.

Other recreation projects funded by your rates include:

• Parks & Playgrounds Renewals -- $42M annual programme
• Jellie Park Pool Renewals -- $9.5M (delayed to 2026/27)
• Taiora QEII Renewals -- $8M ongoing maintenance

The Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor is transforming 602 hectares of earthquake-damaged red zone land into the largest urban park development in New Zealand history. At $340 million, it turns devastation into a world-class ecological and recreational corridor.

10 Cents: Rubbish and Recycling

Your weekly wheelie bin collection, kerbside recycling, green waste, and the EcoDrop transfer stations account for about 10 cents of every rates dollar. The waste minimisation targeted rate for a standard residential property is $176.13 per year.

Council is expanding organics collection infrastructure and investing in resource recovery to divert more waste from landfill. The waste management programme has a $25 million capital budget.

10 Cents: Libraries and Community Facilities

Libraries, community centres, service centres, and cultural facilities take another 10 cents. Christchurch has 20 libraries and service points, numerous community centres, and cultural venues including the Art Gallery and Canterbury Museum.

The biggest community facility project right now is Matatiki Hornby Centre -- a $130 million multi-use hub for one of the city's fastest-growing areas. It includes a library, service centre, pool, gym, sports courts, and community spaces, designed for the next 50+ years.

Other significant community projects include:

• South Library & Service Centre -- $55M for the southern suburbs
• Court Theatre Build -- $50M permanent home in the Performing Arts Precinct
• Community Facilities Renewals -- $35M annual maintenance programme

8 Cents: Regulation and Governance

Building consents, resource consents, food safety inspections, noise complaints, dog control, civil defence, council governance, elections, and democracy services. About 8 cents of your rates dollar covers these essential regulatory functions. They are not glamorous but they keep the city safe, legal, and functioning.

8 Cents: Debt Servicing

Christchurch City Council carries approximately $3.17 billion in debt. That is $8,025 per resident -- comparable to Auckland ($8,059) and well below Wellington ($11,163). Servicing that debt -- paying interest and principal repayments -- takes about 8 cents of every rates dollar.

Most of this debt stems from the earthquake rebuild. The good news is that the Long-Term Plan projects debt stabilising and beginning to decline from around 2028/29 as major rebuild projects are completed. You can explore the 10-year projection in our outlook tool.

The 6.6% Increase Explained

The 2025/26 rates increase of 6.6% breaks down roughly as follows:

• Base increase (operating cost inflation, depreciation, new services): ~4.85%
• Te Kaha targeted rate: ~1.75%

Without Te Kaha, the base increase would be under 5% -- the lowest in several years. The Te Kaha targeted rate funds Christchurch's $683 million, 30,000-capacity Te Kaha stadium, which opens in April 2026. Once the stadium opens and the capital costs are fully funded, this targeted rate component will reduce.

For context, that 6.6% increase is below the national average of 8.4% across all 78 councils, and well below Wellington (12.0%) and Hamilton (15.5%). See our full city-by-city comparison for the detailed breakdown.

How to Check Your Own Rates

Every property is different. Your actual rates depend on:

1. Your property's Capital Value (CV) -- from the 2022 valuation (the 2025 revaluation takes effect July 2026)
2. Whether you are residential, business, rural, or vacant land
3. What services you are connected to (water, sewer, drainage)
4. How many separately used parts (SUIPs) your property has
5. Whether you are in the Central Business Association zone (business properties only)

Use our rates calculator to enter your details and get an exact weekly breakdown with all 16 CCC rates included. It takes about 60 seconds. Not sure how to find your CV or which charges apply to you? The CCC Rates Finder walks you through it step by step.

What is Changing in the Next Few Years?

According to the Long-Term Plan 2024-2034, rates increases are projected to moderate significantly:

The downward trend reflects Te Kaha completion, stabilising debt, and a maturing capital programme. However, the 2025 property revaluation could shift the distribution of rates between properties even if the total amount collected stays the same. Read our revaluation guide for the full analysis, or see the suburb-by-suburb results on the dedicated CCC Rates Valuation 2026 page.

The Bottom Line

At $85.56 per week for an average property, your rates fund a remarkable breadth of services -- from the water you drink to the roads you drive on, from the parks your kids play in to the library where you borrow books. The 6.6% increase is the lowest in three years and sits below the national average. The biggest driver remains infrastructure -- replacing earthquake-damaged pipes and building facilities the city has waited over a decade for.

Want to dig deeper? Explore these tools:

• Calculate your exact weekly rates
• Compare Christchurch to other NZ cities
• See the 10-year rates outlook for your property
• Browse all capital projects
• Find projects in your neighbourhood

Listen: Your Rates, Plain & Simple -- Prefer to listen? In Episode 1 of our podcast, Sam and Kate break down the same 16 charges from a real Christchurch rates bill in about 8 minutes. No jargon, just the numbers.