If you own a rental property in the Wellington region, you may have noticed a change to the way water services are being billed.
From 1 July 2026, Tiaki Wai has taken over the delivery of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services across Wellington, Porirua, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt.
Instead of these costs being included in your council rates, property owners are now receiving a separate Tiaki Wai water services bill.
What does this mean?
To explain things as simply as possible, nothing changes.
Water rates were always included in your usual rates bill, where as now, the invoice for this portion is coming from a different entity. Unfortunately with that change has come a price increase, though this is usual with rates each year as well.
Until Tiaki Wai install water meters in each property, water rates will remain the landlords cost.
Once water meters are installed, the landlord is responsible for the fixed line cost, and the tenant covers the usage fee.
The way this is done is that the owner pays the invoice in full, we then seek reimbursement from the tenant for the usage portion of the bill, and the bill will need to be supplied as evidence of the charge.
However, it sounds like water meters are a few years off at this stage so that's not something we need to think about at this time.
To find out more about your water rates and who is responsible, please check out the links below to Tiaki Wai and Tenancy Services:
- https://www.tiakiwai.co.nz/billing/landlords-and-tenants
- https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bond-and-bills/water-and-wastewater-charges/
If you have any questions about the changes or how they apply to your property, please get in touch, we’re happy to help.
