Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) says it is unable to give homeowners in the district an exact date as to when they will be notified of their new rating valuations.

The new valuations were due in 2020 but deferred to 2021 with the council’s finance, legal and regulatory general manager Stewart Burns citing the “unique circumstances of the global pandemic and its effects on the district and national property markets”.

In December 2021 council advised the Wānaka App that homeowners in the district will be notified of their new ratings valuations in early February 2022.  

“The office of the valuer general has asked QV (Quotable Value), council’s valuation service provider, to provide some further information before it is able to approve the general revaluation for the district,” QLDC media and channels advisor Sam White said.

“We still expect QV to post out notices in March but can’t give an exact date at this time.”

Completed by Quotable Value (QV) on behalf of QLDC, rating valuations provide an updated rating value for the property which is used by the council in setting rates for the next three years.

QV national revaluation manager Tim Gibson said QV was still in the process of reviewing and value checking the new rating valuations for the district.

“A number of factors have made the process more difficult than in previous years, including complexities arising from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, changing regulatory requirements, and the district’s fast-moving residential property market,” Tim said.

While property values across the district have soared in the past two years this may not lead to an increase in rates for a property. Owners of a property whose value has risen by a percentage greater than the average will see an increase in rates payable and conversely, if the property has risen less than the average, rates will be lower.

Rating valuations are one of a number of factors used to allocate rates and reflect the likely selling price (excluding chattels) of a property at the effective revaluation date. They are not designed to be used as market valuations for raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.

PHOTO: Wānaka App