A local council has come under fire after raising rates by up to 50 per cent for thousands of residents living on high floors in apartment buildings.
Gold Coast City Council has been increasing rates for high-rise unit owners over the past six months and residents living in level five and above have been affected.
Residents on the 40th floor or above have been hit hardest: Owners have been forced to pay 50 percent more, or $13 extra.
Tenants on floors 21 to 40 saw a 40 percent increase (or $10.50), while those living on floors 11 to 20 saw their rates rise by 30 percent (an additional $8.10).
Owners of apartments on floors five to ten have not been spared, as rates have risen by 10 percent (or $5.70).
Gold Coast Council issues a rates notice each year in January and July and each notice covers rates for the following six months.
More than 12,000 high-rise apartments have been included in the revised tariff categories.
Queensland Community Strata Association chief executive Laura Bos criticised the increase, calling it a “tax on views”.
Residents living on the top floors of high-rise apartment buildings on the Gold Coast have seen their council rates rise by up to a whopping 50 per cent (file image)
Ms Bos said the move would worsen the housing crisis as people struggle with the cost of living crisis.
“It’s definitely a tax on the horizon and particularly in the context of how it’s being structured, in the sense that the higher you go, the more you pay,” he said. ABC.
Sue Donovan, who lives on the 18th floor of a Gold Coast apartment, said her rates had risen by about $100.
Ms Donovan described the price increase as a “wealth tax” but said the move would help keep rates more affordable for people living in less expensive apartments.
“I think it’s fair that people who can afford it should pay a little bit more to keep rates lower for people who are really feeling the cost of living pressures,” he said.
Councillor Glen Tozer defended the rate increase, saying residents living on ground floors should not pay the same as those living on upper floors of high-rise units.
“People who live in more expensive apartments pay a little bit more than people who live on the ground floor and, frankly, I think that’s the right thing to do,” 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 city has adjusted its method used to calculate general rates for high-rise units that are the primary place of residence to ensure fairness and equity among all categories of taxpayers,” he said.
Residents, property groups and councillors are divided over the move as Australians struggle to find affordable housing during a cost of living crisis (Surfers Paradise QLD file image)
‘This change ensures that unit owners are charged fairly based on the effect that unit size and floor level have on the value of the property.’
Under the previous rate system, a person living on the first floor of a high-rise building would have paid the same as a resident living on the 40th floor.
General rates are charged based on the value of the owner’s land and the rating category of their property according to the council’s website.
“We also charge each owner other standard fees and charges that we establish each year,” the website states.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Queensland Unit Owners Association for comment.
