Homeowner fury over costly error on Gold Coast council rates bills - Mayor orders investigation

Mayor Tom Tate has ordered an urgent investigation after Bulletin revelations that some ratepayers have lost thousands of dollars in overpayments. READ THE LATEST

MAYOR Tom Tate has ordered an urgent investigation after Bulletin revelations that some ratepayers have been unwittingly overpaying for years.

Cr Tate said he had read the reports “with concern” and wanted “to get to the bottom” of it as soon as possible.

Ratepayers spoken to by the Bulletin said they had been shocked to discover they had been paying as much as 40 per cent more than they should because properties they lived in were listed as being rented.

Council said it would only issue refunds for objections lodged within 30 days of receiving bills, leaving many people thousands out of pocket.

Cr Tate on Friday directed council CEO Tim Baker to investigate as soon as possible and report back to himself and councillors.

The mayor asked that if it was found council had erred, Mr Baker should advise on what action could be taken to rectify the mistake and notify impacted ratepayers.

“I’ve sent a directive to the CEO to investigate that. If there’s any room to help the ratepayers we will,” Cr Tate said.

“I’ll wait for his report and his advice to me on that.

“... I’d say to anyone who has just bought a property, check your rate notice, that might have been an investment property before and now you’ve become a principal resident it’s a different rating.

“Check your bills, any bills.”

Mayor Tom Tate at council chambers. Picture: Richard Gosling.

The Mayor’s intervention comes as ratepayers continue to come forward to say that they have been affected.

A number said they were considering a class action if they were unable to recover overpayments from council.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Ombudsman also told the Bulletin ratepayers could approach them to make a complaint if they had exhausted council’s complaint processes.

“A person with concerns about billing practices by local councils should first make a formal complaint using the council’s complaints management system,” the spokesperson said.

“If the person is not satisfied with the result, they have the right to seek a review of the decision. If a consumer is still not satisfied with the response, they can seek an external review by a complaint handling body such as the Queensland Ombudsman.”

Mermaid Waters resident Ben Howe.

Mermaid Waters resident Ben Howe said he was stunned to discover he had been overcharged.

“I know about four other people who have looked at their notices and gone, ‘Oh, I’m getting charged the wrong thing too’,” he said. “It seems like it’s pretty widespread.

“I rang them yesterday and I said, ‘What rates are we on? We’re owner occupier, we bought two years ago’.

“They said, ‘You’re on commercial’. I looked at my rates notice and it just says Residential 3A. It’s so misleading.

“If they put on your rates notice ‘investment property’ or something, it would actually catch your eye.

“I asked what happens, do you issue a credit or what, and she said, ‘No, you don’t get a credit or refund’. It’s unbelievable.”

The Residential 3A rating category is for housing used as “rental accommodation to itinerants” – for example an Airbnb.

Mr Howe said the situation was “ridiculous”, but he hoped council would fix it without the need for legal action from residents.

“I would prefer that the council acts reasonably and fixes the problem and gives people credit,” he said.

“If it was a consumer issue it would be a slam dunk.”

CHECK YOUR NOTICE NOW: HOW TO SPOT COSTLY MISTAKE

The Gold Coast City Council has been slugging some long-suffering homeowners 40 per cent more on their rates because of a technicality.

But if you haven’t noticed within 30 days of receiving the bill, you won’t get your money back.

Residents living in their own home have been shocked to discover they are being charged rental rates instead of owner-occupier rates – and, in some cases, it has been that way for years.

One person told the Bulletin said they had been overcharged $1580 in 12 months.

“We never would have known, only someone told us to check our bill, “ they said. “It says ‘residential’ so we didn’t know any better.”

However, the council says the onus is on homeowners to ensure their property is correctly rated.

The category used to calculate a property’s rates charge is listed under a section called “Details of council rates and charges” on the bill sent to property owners.

Residential properties charged at the owner-occupier rate are listed as “Residential 1”, while residential properties charged as rentals are listed as “Residential 2”.

The bill for Category 1A properties is calculated as 0.159872 per cent of land value. Category 2A is 0.223932 of land value.

For a property with a land value of $500,000, a homeowner would pay $799.35 per rates bill. In the rental category, it would be $1119.66 – a difference of $320.31.

State government, koala habitat, waste management, recycling, recreational space and city transport charges are then added.

A City of Gold Coast Council bill showing the ‘Residential 2’ rating category – which is used for rentals.

A City of Gold Coast Council bill showing the ‘Residential 1’ rating category – which is used for owner occupied homes.

It is feared that thousands of ratepayers could be unwittingly paying too much.

According to the 2021 census, 77,482 dwellings in the Gold Coast local government area are rented – 33.8 per cent of all homes.

However, council is collecting rates at the Residential 2 rate from 91,500 properties, representing 36.7 per cent of all ratepayers.

One ratepayer to the Bulletin they had found correcting the error to be extremely challenging. They were told the council would not issue a refund.

“We have called the council three times now,” they said. “We were told that we could not get a refund for the previous rating periods but that we would be charged correctly once we filled out a form to recategorise the property.

“They told us to find the form on the website, but we couldn’t. We phoned them back and they said they would email it, but they didn’t. We’ve tried twice now and we still haven’t got it.”

Barbara Falconer from Biggera Waters said her daughter had been overpaying for years.

“My daughter checked her rates notice and she discovered that for the last five and a half years she’s been paying the rental rates as well,” Ms Falconer said.

“It’s just ridiculous. It’s a complete money grab.”

Ms Falconer said she believed it may be necessary to take legal action for her daughter to get a refund for the years she had overpaid.

“I know somebody that got a refund for four years but they had to get a lawyer involved,” she said.

“It might be worth a class action for everybody to get their money back.”

Another northern Gold Coast resident also said they had been overpaying for years.

“We have been paying for four years as a rental for a home we own and live in,” she said.

“I got through to council to be told to fill out a Data Collection Form online. The lady I spoke to said she hasn’t heard of anyone getting a refund.”

Another ratepayer said she was kept on hold for two hours, only to be told that council “don’t refund”.

“I have filled out the correct forms and sent documents to prove I live here at their request to change the rating,” she said.

“I followed up yesterday only to sit on hold for two hours to then have a lady tell me ‘we don’t refund and good luck with changing your rating – you should check what you are being charged for on all of your bills’.”

Gold Coast council chambers at Evandale. Picture: Keith Woods.

In a statement to the Bulletin, the council said ratepayers who believed they were paying the wrong rate could get a refund – but only if they lodged an objection within 30 days of their bill being issued.

“The City will allow a credit to the rate account, or refund upon request, to overpayments on rating categorisations where a valid objection notice is received within 30 days of the rate notice issue date,” the spokesperson said.

“In accordance with the relevant legislation, the rating category change is only applied from the start of the rate notice period that is being contested.

“When a residential property changes ownership, council sends a data collection form to the new owner to confirm the property use. Council’s adopted rating structure has different rating categories based on the property use and occupancy status.

“The current rating category will be applicable until such a time that the Data Collection Form confirming current property use is returned or an Objection to Categorisation is lodged.

“A Rating Category Statement, which details council’s rating categories, is included with your July rate notice (hard copy and via the City website).

“We would encourage everyone to check their rating category to ensure they are being charged correctly, but also to notify us of any changes to your usage.”

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