Objection to valuation of Council rates

Was wondering if anyone has challenged a council rate increase and won or has any information that may assist if writing a letter of complaint?
Rates for my property have jumped $110k in one year (17%) which seems outrageous!
Thanks

It is more likely that your CIV (Capital Improved Value) has jumped $110k, as this is what your rates are based on. If you are in Vic, it is actually over 2 years, as re-valuations only happen every 2 years - don't know about other states.

You need to provide evidence to Council that your property is not worth that much, and the best way is to use examples of property sales of similar properties in your area.

Don't forget also that if you ever want to sell, you actually want Council to have the highest valuation possible, as this is what shows on the Section 32 as what your property is worth.

And to be honest, the way the property market is going in some places, I'm not so sure that 17% in one (or two) years *is* outrageous.

I plan to object to my rates valuation.
We purchased a vacant block and built a house (using a volume builder).
My new rates valuation has the Site Value as the price we paid but the CIV as 100k above what we paid for the land and the final cost of the build?
When I phoned the council they claim that the act of adding a house to a vacant block adds to it's value.
Does anyone (perhaps a qualified Valueur) know if council is allowed to add an amount for an "action" of building a house?
If that were the case I should buy the block accrss the street and make a sweet $100k profit. I could do one a year!
Don't forget the additional $100k adds $170 per year to the council coffers too?

I've been slugged a $250 increase with zero external improvements, if anything it's become worse over the last 2 years. Sure could do with a lick of paint, a new driveway, a new roof, landscaping and a new fence.

In Maribyrnong Council Area.

I would also like to voice my disgust at this situation.
2006 rates - $1200
2007 rates - $1800
2010 rates - $2600

So over 120% in 4 years. Yes we have done a reno but I would love somebody to explain to me, if I make MY house more livable, why the hell should I pay Council more money for the privilege. The amount of Council services they offer me stays exactly the same. Rates should be based on LAND value and nothing else. From there they take their 6.0% increase or whatever every year, so its fair across the whole council. NOT penalize the people who renovated and reduce the 'Cents in NAV' for the people who haven't.

Got to love the spin brochure they put in with the rates namely "A general revaluation may result in the rates for some properties going up while others go down" Yeh right.... Reality is NOBODY rates has gone down because the CIV value has gone up to compensate for the reduction in C/NAV.

Also in the brochure they have " Where do my rates go" section. Add it up and it comes to 100% , BUT they are missing and dont tell the people what the administration cost of the Council is. What are they all working for free? LOL .

Grrrrrrrr

Reading through their budget papers M.C bring in $61M from rates and spends $41M on employees. But hang on a sec. The glossy brochure didn't say anything about Employee costs being 67c in every dollar.

I thought that council rates were based on land value alone, nothing to do with the dwelling at all...

That was also my understanding.

I feel same, the council valuer valued my land about the same rate as my parents nearby and they've had a house on their block for years, I didn't think having a house on it has anything to do with it.
My council also values land every 2 years, I received the land valuation when I first bought it and it has only marginally increased after its recent valuation.

Just got slugged with a 30% increase to my rates for the next year for my vacant block.

Rates for my council are based on Capital Improved Value. So the site + improvements (your house). The improvements are valued on how much they think the place can be rented for though I imagine it'd be a fairly basic calculation based on block size and how many rooms the place has since they don't actually come out to inspect it (as far as I know).

I had just got a bank valuation and then my rates come through...... The council valuation is staggering $100k above the bank valuations !!!!

And I agree the massive increase in rates does NOT deliver me any greater service from the council !!!! They are a JOKE .....

The blocks around me have gone up about a third in price so that sounds about right for the area I'm in at least

Rates are based on CIV - Capital Improved Value. This is value of the land + the value of any improvements - dwellings, shedding, fencing etc.

How are valuations determined?

To determine property values throughout the Shire, a qualified valuer is contracted and engaged by Council. The valuer assesses the amount a property would sell for at a specific date. The latest property sales, rental data, land type, buildings and their condition as well as other property improvements are also analysed as part of the valuation process.

Looks like the way rates are worked out differ from state to state.

We're in Liverpool NSW and I've just confirmed that ours is based on land value only.

Here in VIC it is, but not sure about other States.

(Sorry if this starts getting confusing)
Our Council says its calculated by taking the NAV (Net Annual Value) X by the "Cents in the $ on NAV".(eg 6.35027c)

But this is where it gets interesting. The NAV they say is "Net Annual Value - the current value of a property's net annual rent" and by VIC State Legislation states it must be 5% of the CIV.

Where as our CIV is probably about right, they take 5% of this to calculate the NAV, which is what they base the rates on.

Now the NAV value is incorrect as they say our house would rent for $950 per week. (More like $600-$650).

So if you get the NAV part fixed at the current rental rate, it pulls down your CIV.

So it looks like for all Victorians, that its actually a State Govt legislation problem that has caused this, because they have a fixed NAV based on 5% of the CIV.

(In the context of Govt, problem = more revenue for them)

Double grrrrrrr

I work in rates, and hate to tell you that plenty of properties go down in value. The wine industry had an average of 40% value decrease within our municipality.

If you wish to find out the admin costs of your shire, read their annual report and budget reports. Both are readily available for the public.

Rates calculations in Vic are worked out by the cents in the dollar x the CIV. Say we have a house with a CIV of $100,000. The cents in the $ equals .38
The rates would be calculated as 100,000 x .0038 = $380 plus whatever the waste charge is. I never actually bother with the NAV.

If you plan to object to your rates valuation, remember to do it within 60 days of your rates notice being printed (not the date you receive it). A lot of people come and want to object on Feb 15, and don't like being told that they have missed the closing date because they didn't read the back of their notice. And that even if you object, you need to meet the payment due dates, even if you haven't received a response about your objection.

Hi
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I'm very interested to know, did their actual amount of Rates they pay go down?

As for the budget papers, yep, I've had a look, along with the massive amount of employee expenditure, (And not mentioning it their glossy brochure) I stopped when I read "New bin outside Commonwealth Bank - $2800"

Anyway, just annoyed how they promote a magical 5.9% increase being below the State avg, where i'm paying an increase of 45%.

he he, I'm pretty sure that april_candice and I read the same rates brochure

Yep, it went down quite a bit, as the rate in the dollar in my council went down as well. The only thing on their rates notice that increased was their waste collection fees, which went up $14. Whilst it is great that their rates went down, it also shows that they are in a struggling industry

Unfortuantly for me, I don't live in the shire in which I work, and have my own issues with this shire and their municipal charges