--- title: "Development levies replace development contributions from 2029: how to price them into an Auckland land deal" description: Councils can charge development levies from 2029 and must from 2030. What is changing, what is still unknown, and how to allow for it when buying or selling Auckland land. image: https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/hubfs/RWC%20AEO%20Blog%20Heroes/20261023_rwc_blog_levies_infrastructure.jpeg --- [Skip to content](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/rwc-auckland-blog/development-levies-replace-development-contributions-from-2029-how-to-price-them-into-an-auckland-land-deal#main-content) [![RWC Primary](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/RWC004_RGB_Master_%20Concrete.png?width=2482&height=2481&name=RWC004_RGB_Master_%20Concrete.png)Homepage](https://rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/) [Visit our website](https://rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/) [Visit our website](https://rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/) ![Construction site with trenches and large infrastructure pipes](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/RWC%20AEO%20Blog%20Heroes/20261023_rwc_blog_levies_infrastructure.jpeg?width=1600&height=900&name=20261023_rwc_blog_levies_infrastructure.jpeg) # Development levies replace development contributions from 2029: how to price them into an Auckland land deal ![Mike Hoeft](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/ea6c3b54c1765f3e6a4c44ee540f2ab1) Mike Hoeft October 23, 2026 Councils will be able to charge development levies from 2029, and will have to from 2030. Housing Minister Chris Bishop confirmed the change in September, and it replaces the development contributions system Auckland developers pay today. Any feasibility for a project that completes in 2029 or later now has a cost line nobody can fully price yet. ## What happened As reported by the Otago Daily Times and RNZ on 16 September 2026: - Development levies replace development contributions. Bishop described it as "not a new tax", but a replacement for something already in the system. - Councils can start charging levies from 2029 and must from 2030. - Levies can cover water supply, wastewater, stormwater, transport, reserves and community infrastructure. - The Commerce Commission will develop the method for calculating levies and oversee the system. - If the government is re-elected on 7 November, it plans to introduce the legislation in early 2027 and pass it by the end of that year, with a full select committee process. - As an interim step, the government is amending legislation so councils can adjust their development contributions. - The gap between councils' planned growth-related capital spending and what they expect to recover is estimated at up to $11 billion from 2021 to 2031. ## What it means for Auckland land **Growth costs are moving onto development.** The stated principle is that growth pays for growth. Read alongside the size of the recovery gap, the direction is clear even though the rates aren't. **Land carries the cost.** A developer works back from what the finished product will sell for, takes off build costs, fees, finance, margin and council charges, and what's left is what they can pay for the land. If council charges rise, the land price is where it lands. That's how residual land value works, and it's why a landowner should care about a levy they'll never pay directly. **Uncertainty gets priced too.** Until the Commerce Commission sets the method, buyers don't know the number. Expect them to allow a margin for that, especially on larger sites with longer timeframes. ## Who should act and how **Developers** should find out exactly when contributions on a current project are assessed and payable, and whether that falls before or after the new regime starts. For projects completing in 2029 or later, carry a contingency line for council charges and say so in the feasibility. **Landowners** thinking of selling in the next few years should expect buyers to price council charges conservatively. A sale price that ignores that won't hold. If the feasibility no longer supports your number, adjusting the price early and once is usually better than waiting for buyers to tell you over a long campaign. **Buyers of consented sites** should confirm what contributions have already been assessed on the consent, because that's a known cost against an unknown one. ## What I'd watch next The Commerce Commission's methodology and Auckland Council's first schedule of levies. Those two documents will turn a policy into a number, and that number will move land prices. ## Questions landowners ask us **What's the difference between a development levy and a development contribution?** Both fund the infrastructure that growth needs. Levies replace contributions under a new system, with the Commerce Commission setting how they're calculated and overseeing it. **When do development levies start in New Zealand?** Councils can charge them from 2029 and must from 2030, subject to the legislation being passed. **Will development levies reduce what my Auckland land is worth?** If they raise the council charges on a development, a buyer working from a feasibility will pay less for the land by the same amount. Until the rates are known, buyers will allow for the uncertainty. If you're working out what your Auckland land is worth with these changes coming, give me a call, or start at [rwcommercialauckland.co.nz](https://rwcommercialauckland.co.nz). Source: Otago Daily Times (from RNZ), "Govt to let councils impose new levy on developers from 2029", 16 September 2026. --- ## Get RWC Auckland insights tailored to your situation We’re going behind the scenes on Auckland development land, project sales, and what developers are actually paying right now. Tell us what you’re working on and we’ll send the right intel your way. ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fblog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz%2Frwc-auckland-blog%2Fdevelopment-levies-replace-development-contributions-from-2029-how-to-price-them-into-an-auckland-land-deal](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fblog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz%2Frwc-auckland-blog%2Fdevelopment-levies-replace-development-contributions-from-2029-how-to-price-them-into-an-auckland-land-deal) ## Keep reading ### [![Aerial view of an excavator on a cleared development site](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/RWC%20AEO%20Blog%20Heroes/20261023_rwc_blog_consented_site.jpeg?width=1600&height=900&name=20261023_rwc_blog_consented_site.jpeg) Keeping a consented Auckland site saleable through the Planning Act transition](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/rwc-auckland-blog/keeping-a-consented-auckland-site-saleable-through-the-planning-act-transition) ### [![Aerial view of an industrial area with warehouses and roads](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/RWC%20AEO%20Blog%20Heroes/20261023_rwc_blog_industrial_aerial.jpeg?width=1600&height=900&name=20261023_rwc_blog_industrial_aerial.jpeg) Auckland industrial vacancy rises to 4.0%: what it means for industrial land](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/rwc-auckland-blog/auckland-industrial-vacancy-rises-to-4.0-what-it-means-for-industrial-land) [![RWC004\_RGB\_Master\_White](https://blog.rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/RWC004_RGB_Master_White.png?width=160&height=160&name=RWC004_RGB_Master_White.png "RWC004_RGB_Master_White")](https://rwcommercialauckland.co.nz/) - Home - Products - Pricing - Blog - Company --- Privacy Policy · Legal · © 2026 RWC Auckland. 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