The cost of doing business with the Clutha District Council will go up from July 1 when hikes for everything from building consents to buying a cemetery plot take effect.
The council's schedules of fees and charges for the 2009-10 year will be adopted at a special meeting tonight and reveal ratepayers and other wanting to install a wood-burner or apply for a resource consent will have to dig deeper.
The biggest hikes are for building permits, with most rising by about $205, but council planning and environment manager Murray Brass defended the increased charges.
Most of the increases reflected inflation and rising costs the council incurred, although some charges had been changed to better reflect "a more user-pays approach" instead of all ratepayers subsidising some fees.
For those wanting to build a new home, the cost of getting council permission will rise in line with the value of the property.
A person wanting to build a house valued between $200,001 and $400,000 can expect to pay an extra $360 for a building consent fee - from about $1656 to about $2016, while those planning to spend more than $600,000 on their new home will have to pay about $2688 in council fees for the privilege.
It will also cost more to relocate a dwelling or build a prefabricated building from July 1, with the fee for either expected to come close to $1000.
The cost for the latter will rise from $414 to $960.
The cost of a cemetery plot is also rising from the start of next month, with a single plot set to rise from $750 to $840, while burial costs will rise $30 to $860.
Tenants of council-owned housing units will also feel the effects, with most expected to face a weekly rent rise of about $7.
The council is in the process of installing heat pumps and making other insulation improvements to all of its 98 units.
