High-rise apartment owners outraged after being slugged with a ‘view tax’ along the Gold Coast
A local government has been criticised after it raised rates for thousands of residents living on higher floors in apartment buildings by as much as 50 percent.
The Gold Coast City Council has increased the rates for high-rise property owners over the past six months, affecting residents living on floors five and above.
Residents on the 40th floor or higher are hit the hardest, having to pay 50 percent more, which amounts to an additional $13.
Tenants on floors 21 through 40 faced a 40 percent rent increase, or $10.50, while rents for tenants on floors 11 through 20 increased by 30 percent, or an additional $8.10.
Homeowners on floors five through ten were not spared, with rents rising 10 percent, or $5.70.
The Gold Coast Council sends out a tariff notice in January and July each year. Each notice covers the tariffs for the next six months.
More than 12,000 high-rise apartments fall under the revised tariff categories.
Laura Bos, chief executive of the Strata Community Association in Queensland, strongly criticised the increase, calling it a ‘view tax’.
Residents of the top floors of high-rise apartments on the Gold Coast have had their council taxes increased by as much as 50 percent (stock image)
Ms Bos said the measure would worsen the housing crisis as people struggle with the cost of living crisis.
“It is absolutely a tax on the view, and certainly in the context of the way it is structured, in that the higher you go, the more you pay,” she told the ABC.
Sue Donovan, who lives on the 18th floor of a Gold Coast apartment, said her rents have gone up by about $100.
Ms Donovan described the price rise as a “wealth tax” but said the measure would ensure rates remained affordable for people living in cheaper apartments.
“I think it’s fair that people who can afford it pay a little bit more so that rates stay low for people who are really squeezed by the cost of living,” she said.
Councillor Glen Tozer defended the rate increase, saying residents living on the ground floor should not have to pay the same as residents living on the upper floors.
“People who live in more expensive apartments pay a little bit more than people who live on the ground floor, and honestly I think that’s the right decision,” he said.
A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that general rates for high-rise apartments vary depending on the size and location of the unit.
“The municipality has adjusted the method used to calculate the general rates for high-rise apartments that are the main residence. In this way, it wants to guarantee fairness and equity for all categories of taxpayers,” she said.
Residents, property groups and councillors are divided over the move as Australians struggle to find affordable housing amid a cost of living crisis (stock photo from Surfers Paradise QLD)
“This change ensures that homeowners are billed fairly based on the effect that home size and floor have on the value of the property.”
Under the previous tariff system, someone living on the first floor of an apartment building paid the same as someone living on the 40th floor.
The general rates are calculated based on the value of the owner’s land and the classification category of their property according to the council’s website.
“We also charge other rates and standard fees to all homeowners, which we determine each year,” the website states.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Unit Owners Association of Queensland for comment.