Hamilton City Council
Te kaunihera o Kirikiriroa
Pay It
Understand how we charge for water, who the charges apply to, and how to pay.
Residential properties are not currently metered in Hamilton. The cost of providing the city’s water services is built into your general rates, based on a few factors including the value of your property.
Commercial, Business Improvement District (BID) commercial, and other non-domestic properties are metered. This is billed separately to rates.
Billing cycles are quarterly. High water users – those who consume more than 15m3 of water per day – will be billed monthly.
Water rates are posted or emailed around three to four weeks before they are due. Options for payment are detailed on the water rates assessment notice, and include manual bank transfer and direct debit options.
Water rates are the responsibility of the property owner. If you have a tenant in your property, it will be your responsibility to on-charge in line with your tenancy agreement.
If you have a property on a unit title, you may share a meter with other users in the block. You will have a private arrangement between the property owners on how these costs will be shared.
If you’re selling your property, please email us to book in a special meter read. This will make sure that all water rates due will be read and billed at settlement day.
Request a special reading here
Step 1: YOU
For non-residential water rates, you’ll receive your invoice via email or mail three to four weeks before it is due.
You can let us know your preference for paper or email invoices by contacting us by email or phone.
Step 2: YOU
You can pay your water rates either by manual bank transfer, or via direct debit from an account. Details are found on your invoice and are personalised to your account.
Direct debits are processed on the last day of the month.
You’ll need to include your water rates reference number, which can be found at the top of your water rates notice assessment.
For manual online banking payments, follow the instructions written on the invoice, and be sure to include your water rates reference number, and state the payment is for water rates.
You’ll receive an overdue reminder if your water rates are unpaid four weeks after their due date. If you can’t pay your invoice, or have any questions about your water consumption or invoice details, please contact our team to discuss your situation.
This can often be because when you paid, you may have just quoted “rates”, rather than “water rates” on the payment transfer. If this is the case, the payment credit is likely to be on your rates account. Contact our team to find out what your account issue is, and we’ll be happy to help you resolve it.
If you have a unit title, you may share a meter with other users on the block. If this is the case, it’s a private arrangement how you pay, and we suggest contacting the other owners first to find out what that looks like for your property.
When a property changes ownership, it’s recommended that you contact our team to request a special read of the water meter. If a special read is not requested, anything owed on the next water meter assessment becomes the responsibility of the new owner.
Last updated 11 July 2022