The Ratepayer Assistance Scheme
The RAS turns upfront council charges, your rates, a home energy upgrade or a development contribution, into affordable payments spread over time. It is modelled on the LGFA, backed by Local Government New Zealand, and costs councils nothing on their balance sheets.
Preview imagery Find your council
Every one of New Zealand's 67 territorial authorities gets its own page showing its RAS status, the decisions it has made, and what the scheme could mean locally. Start typing a council or town.
LGNZ reports 24 councils with in-principle support. We list only those on the public record; each council's status will be confirmed with the RAS team before launch.
Three products
Councils opt in product by product. Ratepayers opt in too. Every loan is repaid through a rate-like charge on the property, at an interest rate around 2% below bank floating mortgage rates.
~$4,000 a year kept in your pocket
Defer your council rates each year and repay when you sell. Works like a reverse mortgage, but with negligible fees and an interest rate 4 to 5% lower.
How postponement works
$1,000+ a year better off, after repayments
Borrow for solar, a battery or heat pumps at the RAS rate, over terms that match the life of the gear. EECA-accredited installers, repaid through your rates.
How energy loans work
30 years to spread $30–60k+ per dwelling
Councils still get paid upfront. Developers and future owners repay the contribution over 30 years, so more homes get built and fewer get stuck at consent.
How deferred DCs workHow it works
A council controlled organisation, jointly owned by participating councils, the LGFA and the Crown. No single owner holds more than 20%, so it sits off every balance sheet. It raises money the way the LGFA does, and lends it to ratepayers through their council.
Council passes a resolution, picks which products to offer, and gives a limited guarantee proportionate to its ratepayers' use.
LGFA lends to the RAS until the book reaches about $1 billion, then the RAS issues its own bonds.
Ratepayers with at least 20% equity opt in. The RAS pays the council or the accredited installer upfront.
A RAS levy sits on your rates bill. Pay it down early with no penalty, or clear it when you sell.
The opportunity
Figures from the November 2025 RAS overview and the 2025 base case. Indicative until the scheme is established.
Lending capacity after 15 years
2025 base case, RAS overview, Nov 2025
Loans in the first 15 years
Across all three products
Below bank floating mortgage rates
Floating rate, reset quarterly, ~$100 establishment fee
Extra solar installs in 15 years
80% more than all current solar installs in NZ
Where it is at
Six years in the making. The scheme now waits on a Cabinet decision and enabling legislation, with every major party signed up to some version of it.
Local voices
Mayors and councillors on the public record. More will be added as councils make decisions.
Our community is facing significant cost pressures and this scheme will be another way we can help our community to meet everyday costs in challenging times.Janet Holborow, Mayor, Kāpiti Coast District Council, September 2026
Supporting the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme is one way we can help with rising costs and tight household budgets for people in our communities.Nándor Tánczos, Mayor, Whakatāne District Council, February 2026
Who is behind it
The RAS is led by Local Government New Zealand with the Local Government Funding Agency, lead adviser Cameron Partners, and supporting partners Rewiring Aotearoa and EECA. Eight councils funded the business case. An independent Strategic Advisory Group reviewed and endorsed it.
Homeowner
Developer