Rates keep rising. What have you given up to pay them?

For many homeowners, rates have become one of the fastest-growing household bills.

While the debate around Budget 2026 focused on tax cuts, government spending and the cost of living, many Stuff readers pointed to a different pressure they say is becoming harder to manage: council rates.

Across the country, councils have approved significant rates increases in recent years as they grapple with infrastructure costs, debt, insurance and growing demands on local services.

For households already juggling higher grocery bills, insurance costs, power prices and mortgages, rates are increasingly becoming another unavoidable expense.

Readers responding to Stuff’s Budget 2026 coverage last week, repeatedly listed rates among the bills putting the biggest strain on family finances.