City of Greater Shepparton

City of Greater Shepparton

URL: http://www.greatershepparton.com.au/council/finance/valuations/

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Valuations

Information on how property values are determined.

2012 Revaluation

As property values change, a council must periodically reassess the valuation of all properties within its municipality. A valuation determines the market value of a property, at a specific date and in accordance with relevant legislation and legal precedent.

Victorian Councils are required to carry out and return property valuations every two years under the Valuer-General Victoria's Valuation Best Practice program and the Valuation of Land Act 1960. All Victorian properties underwent valuations on the prescribed date of 1 January 2012.

To work out how much each property is worth, the contract valuer analyses property sales and rental data trends, as well as other factors such as: the highest and best use of the land; house value and other site improvements; land shape, size and location.

The revaluation of all properties in our municipality has been conducted by independent, licensed contract valuers LG Valuation Services Pty Ltd.

A definition of the valuations returned to the Council through a revaluation are:

• Site Value (SV) is the market value of the land only;
• Capital Improved Value (CIV) is the total market value of the property, which includes the Site Value plus buildings and other improvements (Council general rates are based on the CIV);
• Net Annual Value (NAV) is the value of the net annual rent, and must be at least five per cent of the CIV.

Valuation Myths and Facts

A council budget determines how much a council collects in rates - property valuations are revenue-neutral for councils:

MYTH: Councils do not generate extra revenue as property values are increased or are revalued.

FACT: Valuations effectively change the mix: some ratepayers will pay more and some will pay less, depending on the new value of their property relative to other properties in the municipality.

Valuation Objections

You have the right under the Valuation of Land Act 1960 to object to the valuation of your property if you are dissatisfied with the determination provided by the Council's contract valuers.

A formal objection must be made within two months from the date of your Council rates notice, and must be submitted on the relevant objection form (available for download below). The legislated time frames set out in Section 18 of the Valuation of Land Act 1960 are obligatory. Neither Valuer-General Victoria nor a municipal council has the power to review the objection if it does not fall within the statutory time limit. The cut-off date for receipt of valuation objections relating to your 2012/2013 Valuation, Rate and Charge notice is 7 November 2012.  Valuation objections received by the Council after this date will not be accepted.

For further information about appealing against your valuation, or to obtain an objection form, please contact the Council on (03) 5832 9700. Before lodging a formal objection you may wish to refer your enquiry directly to the Council's contract valuers, LG Valuation Services Pty Ltd, to try to resolve your valuation questions. The contract valuers can be contacted by phoning (03) 5851 2200.

If you lodge a valuation objection, you must still pay your rates by the due dates as set out on your original rate notice. Failure to pay rates by the required date will result in interest being charged.

Upon lodgement of a valuation objection with the Council, the Council's contract valuers have four months to make a recommendation or disallow the objection. A valuer from LG Valuation Services Pty Ltd may contact you to discuss details of your property and may arrange an inspection of your property to reappraise the rating valuations. You may also be given the opportunity of an appointment to discuss your objection with a valuer.

If a recommendation (ie. a change of values) is made, Valuer-General Victoria then has a further two months in which to approve or reject the recommendation.

Please note: receipt of a recommendation notice from the Council's contract valuers does not constitute acceptance of the new valuation - Valuer-General Victoria must still approve the recommendation before any changes are made to your rating valuations.

Supplementary Valuations

In certain circumstances, valuations must be performed between general valuations. These are known as supplementary valuations. They are required when properties are:

• physically changed (for example, when buildings are altered, erected or demolished )
• consolidated, subdivided, portions sold off.
  

Supplementary valuations bring the affected properties into line with the general valuation of other properties within the municipality, and are assessed at the same date of the general valuation currently in use. Supplementary valuations and notices are processed and issued quarterly.

If you are dissatisfied with your supplementary valuations as determined by the Council's contract valuers, you are entitled to object to the valuations as per the objection process outlined above.