Owners of property with unrepaired earthquake damage are being asked to report it so it can be taken into account when Christchurch and Banks Peninsula properties are revalued this year.
Christchurch City Council has contracted Quotable Value (QV) to revalue more than 160,000 city and Banks Peninsula properties.
Legally the Council is obliged to carry out a general revaluation every three years to ensure that rates are spread fairly across the city.
The last general revaluation was done in 2013 when the Government passed a special Order in Council to value Christchurch properties as if the earthquakes had not damaged them.
This time QV will be following the standard rating revaluation legislation, which means unrepaired earthquake damage will be taken into account.
People can report damage by filling out a survey on QV’s website (external link).
“If you have unrepaired damage that may affect your property’s market value, register it with QV so your new rating valuation is fair and accurate,’’ said Council General Manager Finance and Commercial Peter Gudsell.
QV National Revaluation Manager Gail Smits said they wanted property owners to report damage to buildings that would be significant enough to affect the property’s market value.
“Generally, there is no need to report minor damage such as cosmetic cracks to paintwork or deferred maintenance. If you are in any doubt about the level of damage, please fill in the survey anyway and QV will review your information and decide if the unrepaired damage would be likely to affect your property’s market value.”
Property owners will be sent letters in early December with their new valuations. They will then have until January 31 to lodge an objection.
The new values (sometimes called Capital Values) will apply to rates from 1 July 2017. They do not affect the total rates collected by the Council, which are set through the Council’s Annual Plan, but they do influence how much of the total is collected from each ratepayer.
Early indications suggest property values in Christchurch have risen by around 7 to 8 per cent in the three years since the last revaluation was done in 2013. Then, the average house price was around $450,000. Now it is around $490,000.
The suburbs showing the highest increase in values, based on the work done by QV to date, are Upper Riccarton, Sockburn, Lyttelton, Linwood, St Albans and the inner city.