The status of Māori freehold land is determined by the Māori Land Court as defined in the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (TTWMA) or known as Maori Land Act.
Recent best practice guidance from the Valuer General recommends a uniform lump sum adjustment of $7,000 for Māori freehold land rating units to reflect administration costs associated with Māori Land Court rules.
Councils are required to display the adjustment for Māori freehold land valuations on the notice of valuation. This discounts the value of Māori land up to 10% depending on the number of owners or preferred class of alienees. Land that's considered to have special significance may also be discounted up to 5%. Māori freehold land would have a minimum value of $100 after the discounts and adjustments are applied. The valuer will consider each valuation individually.
The notice of valuation is sent to the first owner/ratepayer held in the rating information database during the revaluation process.
The pre-adjusted values reflect the land to be assessed as General Land. This allows for uniformity of values depending on different aspects such as market evidence, location, access difficulties especially for landlocked situations, contour challenges and subdivision restrictions arising from the TTWMA etc.
Then a lump sum of $7,000 is deducted for all Māori Freehold Land rating units to recognise administrative issues. This recognises the complexity of the Māori Land Court rules when fulfilling offer back obligations to the owners or preferred class of alienees (PCA).
In addition a revised percentage discount is applied to take into account both the number of owners, or people within the PCA and sites of special significance, noting that in many cases the existence of a site of significance.
The tables below outline the parameter for discounting land by ownership structure, and sites of significance.
Number of Owners | Adjustment |
Under 10 | 3.5% |
Under 25 | 4.0% |
Under 50 | 6.0% |
Under 100 | 8.0% |
100 and over | 10.0% |
Special significance of specific sites | Adjustment |
Pa site | 1.5% |
Urupa | 1.5% |
Runanga site | 1.5% |
Whawhai site | 1.5% |
Indigenous Forest | 1.5% |
Kainga | 0.5% |
Access trails | 0.5% |
Garden sites | 0.5% |
Kai moana sites | 0.5% |
Other Wahi Tapu sites | 0.5% |
Maximum | 5.0% |
Check that the correct percentage is on your valuation notice. Remember to add all the sites of significance together.
As all land has some value and for the purposes of this rating valuation guideline, a minimum value criterion of $100 per rating unit is reasonable. This will avoid a zero or negative value to be returned where adjustment factors are applied. If the initial general title value of the rating unit is less than $100 then this amount should be adopted.
View the full Mangatu Guidance
View further details on Land Information New Zealand website
If you would like more information, please contact our revenue team