Auckland pensioner faces long wait to object to his new property valuation and 43 per cent rate rise

The pensioner and sick beneficiary, hit by a 43% interest rate hike last year, is outraged when he invites the Auckland Council to review the new valuation of his home in Ponsonby. increase.

As a disabled superpensioner, every dollar counts, Roger Hawkins has tried to rush along with the council to lower his rate, which accounts for 18% of his pension. However, it didn’t work.

Hawkins lives in what is known as ‘Avenue’, a line of historic streets on the border of Ponsonby and Herne Bay. The pensioner bought her Wanganui Avenue villa in 1981 for $69,000, but recently the home’s value has exceeded her $3 million. A house a few doors down from Hawkins’ address recently changed ownership for $4.4 million.

The latest valuation, based on figures released last March, jumped the value of Hawkins’ home from $2.05 million to $3.25 million, with the land at $3.1 million and his house in pre-luxury condition at 15. It was a million dollars. It has a 1970s kitchen and an unsealed driveway.

A significant increase in his capital valuation (CV) is the main reason his interest rate jumped to $6485 last year.

“This is completely unacceptable. Naturally, I objected because it could not and will never justify a 43% increase,” Hawkins said. says.

The Ponsonby resident is one of 9,072 disgruntled feepayers who objected to the new resume last year. This was a four-year time lag due to the impact of Covid from previous assessments, which normally take place every three years.

The new CV had been used to set the rate since last July, but almost a year later, the council has only completed 39% of the dissents, and the completion date appears to be far away.

In the meantime, opponents like Hawkins will still have to pay fees set last year and will only be refunded if their resumes are reduced. If so, the rate goes up, dating back to July of last year.

Rhonwen Heath, the Council’s head of rate valuations, acknowledged that the process of dealing with valuation disputes has been “long and protracted”.

In its final reassessment campaign of 2018, the council stood by itself, saying in a media release that it was working to clear 7,800 objections by June 30 of that year. It took him another 8-10 months for a third-party contractor to complete the job.

This time, Heath said he hopes to complete the outstanding 5512 revaluation objections by the end of the year, but “cannot make any guarantees.” You will pay a higher fee for 18 months.

In fairness to all, the council does not prioritize one challenge over another, Heath said. This allows us to process your objection as efficiently as possible.

Valuation manager Megan Holley said the council would have to comply with the 2008 rating evaluation rules. This may take several days and requires approval by registered appraisers and councils.

The council has a team of 10 evaluators who occasionally withdraw re-evaluation objections to do other work.

Earlier this year, the council made changes to speed up the process while still adhering to the rules, Holley said.

When Hawkins expressed concern earlier this year about how long the process was taking, he said:[buzz] don’t worry about myself

Heath said he was done with some of the responses to Hawkins, but he could not have imagined that the council would say so.

“Even if the message is not what the customer wants to hear, we will always do our best to be polite and as palatable as possible,” she said.

Heath said low-income or fixed-income taxpayers, such as pensions, could be eligible for rebates or deferrals.