Policy for Setting Land Rentals for Club Buildings on Council Land

Kia ora,

We’re reviewing the policy that sets how rent is charged for community organisations leasing Council land and buildings.

The current policy was last updated in 2017, and a lot has changed since then. So we’re taking a fresh look to make sure it still works well for our communities and for Council.

Please read the Statement of Proposal, and share your feedback through the survey below.

What is this about?

Council supports community organisations by leasing land and buildings at well below market rates so they can run sport, recreation and community activities.

Since the policy was originally adopted, the number of leases has increased, including some where the building is now owned by Council rather than the leaseholder. This review responds to changes in costs, lease numbers, and operational needs.

Proposed fee and rent increases are intended to partially recover the actual cost of lease administration, not to generate profit.

What are the main proposed changes?

• Remove lease rates from the policy and include them in Council’s Schedule of Fees and Charges, for annual review
  
• Provide clarity on the matters Council will consider when reviewing an application for commercial activities by a lessee, or subletting for recreation based commercial activities
• Rename to ‘Policy for Setting Rent for Community Organisations using Council Land or Buildings’

The fee changes outlined below are proposed to be included in Council’s Schedule of Fees and Charges:

• Increase the administration fee from $250 to $325 per year
• Increase the lease rate from $0.80/m² of building area to $1.05/m²
• Increase the lease rate for exclusive land (ie land not available to the general public) from $0.10/m² to $0.15/m²
• Introduce an administration fee of $550 per year for any commercial activities

You can read the full proposed changes here.