Fears of rising rates across Tauranga City have some lifestyle village residents wary they may be 'rated out” their homes.

In front of a full house of about 60 people at the Havenbrook Village recreational hall yesterday, Tauranga City Mayor Stuart Crosby and Tauranga City Council rating expert Jim Taylor explained to lifestyle residents the council's rating system and the rates rebate scheme.

Mayor Stuart Crosby hosted a meeting at Havenbrook Village to discuss rates rises.

The meeting comes as a result of disgruntled residents seeking council justification why their rates continue to rise despite their amenities - roading, footpaths and maintenance - are all paid to a body corporate rather than to council.

In what the Mayor describes as an 'informative and good spirited” meeting, residents from Havenbrook Village, Orange Grove Village, Bridgewater Village and Harbour View Park sat down with the pair to discuss what they believe are constant rates hikes.

'I gave an overview of the rates and the rates structure and made it very clear the start rates are never fair and never equitable; they are a way of raising revenue to run the city,” says Stuart.

Further discussion was directed at a breakdown of what residents rates pay for including libraries parks and reserves and flood protection, before turning their attention to the rates rebate scheme.

Havenbrook Village resident and organiser of the meeting Bernice Hartwell believes residents came away from the meeting better informed.

Bernice says because of the Government's rating system their hands are somewhat tied but admits the Mayor did offer some sympathy.

'No one thinks it's fair and neither does the Mayor. He said ‘I know it's not fair'. Not everybody has a lot of money behind them, which makes it harder,” says Bernice.

'It's not fair that what we are being charged here for rates and it's a private road. The council don't contribute to any maintenance whatsoever in the village and it's like tough luck isn't it. There's quite a number of villages that are affected the same so they are doing okay out of them.”

Owner of a two bedroom lot for the last four years, Bernice says her rates have increased annually from $1400 to just below $2000.

In the Havenbrook Village the lots are small in size ranging between 280sqm and 320sqm.

'They have got the message but a lot of people feel they are eventually going to be rated out of their property the way they are when you are paying a body corporate fee as well as higher and higher rates.”

'It's like it's a no win situation. It's tough luck - that's the way it is and that's the way it's done in Tauranga.”

But Stuart dispels these fears saying council's rates cap put in place three years ago will ensure this does not happen.

The city's rates are calculated on a fixed formula of new growth in the city plus inflation, plus two per cent allowance for improving the city.

'So what the issue was for some of them was they purchased a bare section, so the rates were a certain level. Then they built a house on it and the rates obviously increase and that's normal in our rating system. Since then their rates increases have been between two and four per cent,” says Stuart.

'We calculated their rates at a daily rate and for $1800 it's $5 per day. That's very good value.”