Development contributions help to recover the costs of infrastructure we provide to support the growth in Tauranga. Find out more about about development contributions below.
Will I need to pay development contributions on my project?
Development contributions (DCs) may be required for both residential and non-residential development, if the development creates a demand for council-provided infrastructure.
The most common types of development which trigger payment of a DC are:
- subdividing a property
- building a new residential building
- building a new non-residential building.
But there are many other developments that will trigger payment of a DC. Here are some examples of less obvious development types that would fall in that category (this is a non-exhaustive list).
If you build more than one house on an allotment, you will pay citywide development contributions for each dwelling, and a local development contribution. Both fees will be charged on your building consent if it has not already been paid prior.
The same principle applies if you build a second house on an allotment that already contains one dwelling. You will need to pay both a citywide and a local development contribution for the new household, if no subdivision has occurred.
If a dwelling is built or altered to create more than one living area, additional fees may apply. Some examples include:
- adding a new kitchen or bathroom facilities so that the house can now be used as two households
- installing fire rating in an existing house so that it can be safely used as two independent homes
- building a granny flat or sleep-out or other additional spaces. Especially if these spaces have separate bathroom and/or kitchen facilities
- adding more bedrooms to dwellings
- changing the primary use of a building (e.g. residential to commercial or vice versa).
If you have an existing property that was not connected to council’s reticulated networks, you can ask council for permission to connect (provided the services are available). If the application is approved, it may trigger the requirement to pay development contributions.
If you move an existing building to a new site in Tauranga, this may trigger the requirement to pay development contributions. For example, if the house was pre-built off-site, DCs would not have been paid prior, and may need to be paid when you relocate it.
If you complete development work without the correct consent and later apply for a certificate of acceptance, this may trigger the requirement to pay development contributions.
Apartment buildings are assessed as a residential activity. Each apartment will be charged a citywide fee and a local fee. Although apartments may be in one and the same building, the demand their occupants place on council infrastructure (e.g. pipes, roads, playgrounds) amounts to the same as if they were living in multiple houses/buildings instead.
If a caravan or tiny home is being used for residential purposes and is not considered a temporary structure or is connecting to council services, it may trigger the requirement to pay development contributions.
Change of primary use of building
If you change the use of a building i.e. from residential to commercial or vice versa, this may trigger the requirement to pay development contributions. DCs are calculated differently for commercial buildings compared to residential. A credit for the previous activity will be applied to the site and offset against the fees for the new activity.
Note: credits for buildings removed
When a building has been removed or demolished, a credit will apply to the site and the amount will be offset against any future development of the site.
Types of development contributions
Tauranga City Council charges two types of development contributions (DCs): local DCs and citywide DCs. Most developments will pay both fees, but they will often be charged at different stages of the development.
Local development contributions fund the infrastructure that services the area/catchment in which the development is taking place. For example, the smaller water pipes in your local suburb or the local neighbourhood playgrounds. As a result, the fees vary depending on the location of the development. Local DCs are higher in the newer growth areas as much more infrastructure needs to be built before development can happen. This fee is usually payable on a resource consent for subdivision or land use – but may also be charged on a building consent and service connection if it has not been charged prior.
Citywide development contributions pay for the large infrastructure networks that service the entire city, like wastewater treatment plants and large trunk mains. Citywide fees vary depending on the type of development but not with the location. The fee is usually payable on building consents or service connections – but may also be charged on a resource consent for land use.
How much will I have to pay
Development Contributions increases in 2024 and 2025
Development Contributions are increasing to help pay for our city’s growth and provide the services and facilities our community requires. Increases were applied on 1 July 2024.
The amount of development contributions you’ll need to pay will depend on the type of development you are undertaking, and its location.
The fees are set out in the development contributions policy of the financial year (1 July to 30 June) that the work was consented. The policy is reviewed annually.
Access the latest policy
Below are examples of fees for common types of developments. Citywide contributions are often included in your building consent or service connection fee. Local contributions are often paid as part of your resource consent for subdivision or land use but may also be charged on a building consent and service connection if it has not been charged prior.
Citywide Development Contributions are payable on a building consents for a new dwelling or commercial buildings.
Table 1: Citywide development contributions
| Activity |
Basis of charge |
Water |
Wastewater |
Stormwater |
Transport |
Reserves |
Community
Infrastructure |
Total Excl.
GST |
Total Incl.
GST |
| |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
| Residential activity |
large dwelling |
22,373 |
12,960 |
0 |
231 |
679 |
2,368 |
38,612 |
44,403 |
| Residential activity |
3 bedroom dwelling |
17,210 |
9,969 |
0 |
178 |
522 |
1,822 |
29,701 |
34,156 |
| Residential activity |
2 bedroom dwelling |
11,186 |
6,480 |
0 |
116 |
340 |
1,184 |
19,306 |
22,202 |
| Residential activity |
1 bedroom dwelling |
8,605 |
4,985 |
0 |
89 |
261 |
911 |
14,851 |
17,078 |
| Retirement Village |
Charge per unit |
8,605 |
4,985 |
0 |
36 |
52 |
182 |
13,860 |
15,938 |
| Retirement Village |
$ per household
unit equivalent |
17,210 |
9,969 |
0 |
45 |
65 |
228 |
27,516 |
31,644 |
| Business Activities |
$ per 100m2 Gross
Floor Area |
3,938 |
2,947 |
0 |
212 |
0 |
0 |
7,097 |
8,161 |
| Low Demand Business |
$ per 100m2 Gross
Floor Area |
984 |
665 |
0 |
212 |
0 |
0 |
1,862 |
2,141 |
| Community Organisation |
$ per 100m2 Gross
Floor Area |
4,430 |
2,566 |
0 |
34 |
0 |
0 |
7,030 |
8,085 |
Local Development Contributions change from one urban growth area to the next, depending on the local infrastructure in place and how long DCs have been collected for that area. See map of urban growth areas here (page 4) (to be provided shortly) When a development is located outside of these urban growth areas, local development contributions may apply based on the location of development and infrastructure projects surrounding that location. If you are developing outside urban growth areas, please contact us for an estimate by emailing developmentcontributions@tauranga.govt.nz.
Table 3: Local development contributions
| Local catchments |
Per |
Water |
Wastewater |
Stormwater |
Transport |
Reserves |
Community
infrastructure |
Total Excl.
GST |
Total incl.
GST |
| |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
| Bethlehem |
Per lot |
649 |
5,775 |
2,777 |
3,688 |
0.0 |
0 |
12,889 |
14,822 |
| Ohauiti |
Per lot |
4,609 |
5,189 |
672 |
1,099 |
0 |
0 |
11,569 |
13,305 |
| Pāpāmoa |
Per lot |
239 |
871 |
3,847 |
3,079 |
0 |
0 |
8,036 |
9,241 |
| Pyes Pā |
Per lot |
410 |
3,997 |
1,013 |
1,832 |
0 |
0 |
7,252 |
8,340 |
| Pyes Pā West |
Per lot |
1,231 |
7,163 |
17,697 |
9,153 |
5,281 |
0 |
40,525 |
46,604 |
| Tauranga Infill* |
Per lot |
0 |
3,997 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3,997 |
4,597 |
| Tauriko |
Per hectare |
20,692 |
116,780 |
40,599 |
185,124 |
0 |
0 |
363,195 |
417,674 |
| Tauriko - Pond B |
Per hectare |
20,692 |
116,780 |
114,055 |
185,124 |
0 |
0 |
436,651 |
502,149 |
| Tauriko - Pond C |
Per hectare |
20,692 |
116,780 |
88,654 |
185,124 |
0 |
0 |
411,250 |
472,937 |
| Te Papa Infill (South)* |
Per lot |
- |
- |
- |
6,058 |
2,895 |
0 |
8,953 |
10,296 |
| Te Papa Infill (North)* |
Per lot |
- |
- |
- |
6,058 |
- |
0 |
6,058 |
6,966 |
| Wairakei A |
Per hectare |
47,487 |
126,083 |
242,557 |
169,438 |
0 |
0 |
585,566 |
673,401 |
| Wairakei B |
Per hectare |
47,487 |
111,246 |
77,179 |
169,438 |
0 |
0 |
405,351 |
466,154 |
| Wairakei C |
Per hectare |
47,487 |
158,343 |
358,310 |
169,438 |
0 |
0 |
733,578 |
843,615 |
| Welcome Bay |
Per lot |
1,604 |
4,796 |
986 |
1,738 |
0 |
0 |
9,124 |
10,493 |
| West Bethlehem |
Per lot |
635 |
10,933 |
6,387 |
6,600 |
6,455 |
0 |
31,011 |
35,662 |
| West Bethlehem |
Per hectare |
8,571 |
147,596 |
86,228 |
89,103 |
87,148 |
0 |
418,646 |
481,443 |
*Development in the Te Papa catchment will pay local development contributions towards both the Te Papa and the Tauranga Infill infrastructure.
Get in touch with the development contributions team at developmentcontributions@tauranga.govt.nz or 07 577 7000 to find out about fees payable for other types of developments, or outside of the urban growth areas listed above.
How are development contributions calculated?
Put simply, the contributions are calculated by dividing the cost of growth-related capital expenditure in a specified area by the amount of growth anticipated in that area or across the whole city for citywide growth infrastructure (e.g. wastewater plant capacity upgrades). Contributions will vary depending on the development contributions policy applicable to the development.
Our development contribution tool can give you an indication of the contribution charges that may apply under the operative Development Contributions Policy.
Estimate your development contributions
What are development contributions used for?
Development contributions are used to help fund new or expanded growth-related infrastructure and may only be used to fund the infrastructure for which they were taken. This may be planned growth infrastructure (not built yet) or existing infrastructure still providing capacity for Tauranga’s growth.
The contribution is a one-off charge. The subsequent operation and maintenance of the infrastructure is covered by council through rates and other charges.
Development contributions collected for non-residential development can be used to fund infrastructure for water, wastewater, stormwater and roads. Development contributions collected for residential development can be used for the same, and also for reserves and community infrastructure.
The following are some examples of new or expanded infrastructure that council could collect development contributions for.
| |
Local development contributions |
Citywide development contributions |
| Water |
Non-trunk water pipes |
Trunk mains, reservoirs, treatment plants |
| Wastewater |
Local pipes, pump stations, trunk mains, storage |
Treatment plants, ocean outfalls |
| Stormwater |
Ponds, pipes, floodways, channels and associated land purchases for stormwater, roading-associated stormwater |
Not applicable |
| Transport |
Local roads, walkways and cycleways and associated land purchases |
Intersection upgrades and road widening of strategic arterial roads |
| Reserves |
Land purchases and development of local reserves (playgrounds, footpaths, landscaping etc.) |
Purchase and development of active reserves (sportsfields) and sub-regional parks (e.g. TECT All Terrain Park) |
| Community infrastructure |
Not applicable |
Pools, arenas (e.g. Baywave, ASB Arena) |
How can I appeal a development contribution charge?
In accordance with 199A of the Local Government Act 2002, Tauranga City Council has processes in place should a person request that council reconsider the requirement for them to pay a development contribution, object to paying a development contribution or request a deferral/postponement on the payment of a development contribution fee.
You can find further information in Section 2 of the current development contributions policy. If you would like further information or to challenge a development contribution charge, please contact us at developmentcontributions@tauranga.govt.nz or 07 577 7000.