Ratepayers should be prepared to object to revaluation

Every ratepayer in Auckland will know tomorrow the new value of their home based on the revaluation carried out by Auckland Council this year.

This new value will be the measure on which the Council will charge for rates, for each individual property, for the three years commencing 1st July 2015 and it is every ratepayer’s interest to consider objecting to that value.

The valuation is made purely for the purpose of charging and collecting rates. It has nothing to do with selling or buying a home – which value can only be decided when the property is actually bought or sold.

There are thousands of examples of properties being sold at levels of 30% or more above ‘CV’. – and higher.

CV is Capital Value – but the valuations by Council should be called by their more correct name RV – Rateable Value.

If ratepayers believe their property is too high in relation to similar properties they should object – otherwise they could end up paying higher council rates over the next three years.

These new valuations are largely calculated on actual sales recorded around 1st July this year and cover about 525,000 properties with the boundaries of Auckland Council.

This is a desk-top method for arriving at values for different classes of property but cannot possibly be an accurate valuation for each individual property.

Ratepayers already know that rates in Auckland are due to rise by 3.5% next year – although how this will be impact on individual ratepayers will not be known until the budget is approved in June next year.

A higher percentage increase in the following two years is also possible if the Council decides to start construction of the Central Rail Link without Government funding in place, or if some urgent infrastructure costs arise.

Ratepayers have until 19th December to lodge objections – and they should look around and ask questions to help them make a decision to object, or not.
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