The Auckland Council fee rises starting this month were unfair on low-income grieving families, said Funeral Directors' Association chief executive Katrina Shanks.
Fees for burial plots across the Auckland region increased by an average 8%, fees for ash plots by 14%, and interment fees by 132%.
Mrs Shanks said increasing plots by up to $1400 could not be justified and would put further pressure on those already struggling with the cost of funerals.
An example of the impact of the fees rise was at Manukau Memorial Gardens, where a burial plot cost had gone up 15% from $3464 to $4000, plus interment fee of $1072.
A Papakura burial plot went up 19% from $16878 to $2000 and the interment fee went up 158% from $857 to $1400.
At Waikumete, a fee for the ash plot garden rose 48% from $1708 to $2533 plus an interment fee of $300.
Mrs Shanks said that Work and Income provides funeral grants of up to $2008 to cover burial, plot and cremation charges.
This went no where near to covering costs, she said.
The council was pricing people out of the market for burial plots and interments - forcing them into the cheaper option of cremation.
This week, it was reported that the average house price in Auckland is now $800,000.
