Buying a burial plot and services in advance

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

Some New Zealand councils let you buy a burial plot before you need it, and some do not. What you buy is an "exclusive right of burial": the right to bury in that plot, not ownership of the land. It does not cover the interment fee for opening the grave, the headstone, or the funeral director, which are paid when the burial happens.

An exclusive right of burial is a certificate from the cemetery owner, usually a council, that gives you the legal right to use a specific plot for a burial or the interment of ashes. Auckland Council says the certificate "gives you the legal right to use a specific plot" and that buying a plot "does not transfer ownership or title of the land" (Auckland Council: Burial plots). Nelson City Council says the same: the land "remains under Council management" (Nelson City Council: Plots). The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ) suggests asking whether you can buy a burial or ash plot ahead, because it "avoids future council price-rises" (FDANZ: Financial matters). But the rules differ by council, and some councils have closed that route. This page covers five councils we could read, as at 20 October 2026.

Which councils let you buy ahead

Council	Buy ahead?	What the council says about the right	Unused plot
Christchurch	"Burial and ashes plots can be pre-purchased in most cemeteries"; a list of cemeteries is given	The land stays the council's, and "all interments... are in perpetuity". Up to two caskets and four ashes interments per burial plot	Transfer of right of burial is $80.80. The page does not describe refunds
Auckland	No. "You can no longer pre-purchase a burial plot"; plots are for immediate use only	Valid for 60 years; once a burial has taken place the right becomes permanent	If unused and not renewed after 60 years, the right returns to the council with no refund. You may sell it back for the original price if you no longer intend to use it. Transfer $52, surrender $105
Wellington	A casket plot can be bought only "when there’s an immediate need for a plot". Karori has no new plots, but pre-purchased plots can still be used	A "Deed of Exclusive Right of Interment" held "forever"; you do not own the land	Transfer by contacting the cemeteries team
Nelson	Yes: plots "can be purchased in advance"	Certificate of exclusive right of burial issued after payment; most plots take two caskets	Transfer of interest is covered by a $201 records fee
Tauranga	The 2026 cemetery rules say the council "will only allow a close relative of the deceased to pre-purchase" a right and reserve a plot "at the time of the burial". Ask the council	A right for "a specified number of years"	A right can be rescinded by agreement if unused, with a refund of the original price. It lapses after 60 years with no refund, citing section 10(4) of the Burial and Cremation Act 1964

Sources: Christchurch City Council: Plots and fees, Auckland and Nelson pages above, Wellington City Council: Buy a plot, and Tauranga City Council: Cemetery Rules 2026 (PDF). The terms differ, from Auckland's 60 years to Wellington's "forever", so rely on your council's own current text when you buy. We could not read Dunedin's plot page, and Hamilton's fee page was last updated on 5 July 2022, so neither is in the table.

What the plot price covers, and what it does not

The plot price is one line on the council's bill. Nelson says its charges cover the exclusive right of burial, digging and filling the grave, checking the headstone or plaque, and a share of cemetery upkeep, and that fees are set on the date of the plot purchase or interment, with reviews each 1 July (Nelson City Council: Fees). That is a useful detail: buying the plot early fixes the plot fee, and the burial fee is charged at the rates in force at the burial.

The table shows plot plus first interment as the councils publish them. The totals are our sums. Fee years differ, and so do the recipes: Tauranga's plot price includes maintenance in perpetuity and the memorial permit, Wellington's total includes a beam and a maintenance fee, and Christchurch's is the plot and the weekday interment alone.

Council and cemetery	Plot or right	Interment	Total	Fee year
Christchurch (council cemeteries)	$2,071	$1,389 (weekday, adult)	$3,460	2026/27
Nelson (adult)	$3,315	$1,445	$4,760	2026/27
Wellington (Mākara, plaque lawn)	$1,095 plot, $211 beam, $679 maintenance	$769	$2,754	Page prints no year
Auckland (Manukau, lawn)	$5,360	$1,410 (single depth)	$6,770	Page prints no year
Tauranga (Pyes Pā)	$6,388 (with maintenance and permit)	$2,038	$8,426	1 July 2026

Sources: the councils' fee pages listed in References. Our burial plot cost guide compares the fees in more detail, and our funeral costs section has a page for each council we have read.

Beyond the table, these costs still arise:

Outside the weekday. Christchurch charges $846 for a Saturday or public-holiday burial. Nelson adds $351 on weekends. Auckland's Manukau schedule lists $515 for a Saturday burial.
A second burial. FDANZ says double-depth plots are usually available, and an opening fee applies for the second interment (FDANZ: Burial or cremation).
Memorials. A headstone or plaque permit costs $87 in Christchurch, $108 in Wellington and $121 for a plaque review in Nelson, and the stone itself is extra. See headstones.
Out-of-district buyers. Nelson adds $2,312 to a burial plot for a non-Nelson resident. Wellington sets a separate out-of-district fee.
The funeral. The funeral director's fees, the casket, the celebrant and the rest are separate from anything the council charges.

Can you sell, transfer or hand it back?

It depends on the council. Auckland lets the owner transfer the right with consent to another person, organisation or charitable trust, or sell it back to the council "for the original purchase price" if the owner no longer intends to use it; if the right is not renewed after 60 years with no burial, it returns to the council and the price is not refunded. Tauranga's rules let a right transfer to a close relative with approval, and a refund of the original price is available where both sides agree and no burial has taken place. Christchurch charges $80.80 to transfer a right. Nelson's fee list has a records and transfer-of-interest charge of $201. Do not assume you can resell a plot to a private buyer, because the sources we read describe transfers only through the council. Once a burial has taken place in Auckland, the plot cannot be sold to anyone else.

If you die before you use a Wellington plot, the council says the spouse or immediate next of kin can decide how to use it if all interested parties agree.

Planning ahead, step by step

Decide burial or cremation. Our burial or cremation guide sets out the trade-offs.
Ask the council whether it sells plots in advance and for how long the right lasts. Get the answer in writing.
Visit the cemetery and ask what happens if it fills up or your family moves away.
Pay the plot fee, and keep the certificate with your will. Tell your executor where it is.
Remember that the burial is a separate bill. A plot you buy from the council is a separate purchase from any prepaid funeral plan, so tell your funeral home. FDANZ suggests asking "Does the quote include council cremation / burial costs?" (FDANZ: Financial matters). The overview of prepaid funerals covers plans that pay a funeral invoice, and how to prepay a funeral gives the steps.

Planning ahead with funeral insurance

A plot is one cost. Funeral insurance is a different tool: it pays a fixed benefit towards the funeral bill, not the bill itself. Momentum Life Limited issues Funeral Insurance for New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, with no health questions and a benefit of $3,000 to $30,000. In the first 24 months it pays only if death is accidental (within 90 days of the accident); on any other death in that window there is no benefit and all premiums are refunded. The premiums paid over the years can add up to more than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Momentum's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair); see its financial strength page. The buttons on this page open Momentum Life's online application. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy (how we are paid). Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). See the funeral insurance hub and the Momentum Life Funeral Cover page.

If you are planning ahead for your own funeral costs

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Life cover: Conditions you already have aren't covered for the first 2 years (premiums refunded instead). Suicide isn't covered for the first 2 years, and a few conditions can be excluded permanently.

Funeral cover: Only accidental death is covered for the first 2 years. Total premiums can add up to more than the cover, and it may not meet the whole cost of a funeral.

Insurer: Momentum Life Limited. Financial strength rating B (Fair) from AM Best, affirmed 11 February 2026; B ratings sit in AM Best's 'vulnerable' range. The rating scale is available for inspection at every Momentum Life office in New Zealand. What this means

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Opens Momentum Life's online application; its guidance only covers eligibility. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy. General information, not advice.

Adviser's view

Buying a plot ahead can fix one cost and settle where you will be buried, but it is not the whole bill and not every council allows it. You buy a right to bury in a plot, not the land. Check your council's current rules first, and keep the certificate where your executor will find it.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Prepaid Burial Plots NZ: Rights, Fees and Services. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/prepaid-burial-plots-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

References

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