800 per cent rate increase: Council’s proposal angers retirement village residents

Cairns Regional Council has proposed an 800 per cent increase to rates levied on retirement villages across Cairns in a move residents claim is “not equal”.

Oak Tree retirement village residents Judy and Alan Holzheimer (front) and Alan and Doreen Foster are upset at the proposed rate increase. Picture: Brendan Radke

Retired residents are objecting to Cairns Regional Council’s proposed 800 per cent increase in the general rate charged to retirement villages across Cairns.

The proposal stipulates that in the 2025/26 financial year, the minimum general rate for one dwelling would be applied to each unit in a retirement village, as opposed to charging the village as one dwelling.

Oak Tree retirement village in White Rock, which has 77 dwellings, was levied a general rate of $9063 in the 2024/25 financial year.

The proposed change would see the minimum general rate from 2024/25, which is $1072.90, charged to each of the 77 units, meaning Oak Tree would be $82,613.30 in total - an increase of 800 per cent.

The council’s proposal letter says that “this change aims to address inequities compared to other multi-dwelling properties and ensure that every dwelling makes a fair and reasonable contribution towards the infrastructure and services that council delivers”.

Oak Tree residents Judy and Alan Holzheimer said they have objected to the proposal, arguing that retirement villages “serve a purpose within our communities that a general multi-unit dwelling does not serve”, and therefore should not be charged per dwelling, as other multi-dwelling properties are.

“We provide a service for old people to remain independent without going into nursing care,” Ms Holzheimer said.

Division 3 Councillor Cathy Zeiger said the proposal is subject to change and has not been voted on, so it may not go ahead at all.

But she said if it did go ahead, it would be up to each village to decide how to distribute the charges.

But Ms Holzheimer said her contract with Oak Tree stipulated that each dwelling was responsible for 1/77th of the rates levied on Oak Tree, meaning the charge would be evenly split between the 77 units.

Based on the 2024/25 minimum general rate this would equate to a charge of $1072.90 per dwelling a year, increasing residents’ fortnightly service charge by $41.20.

Judy and Alan Holzheimer have lived at Oak Tree for nine years. Picture: Brendan Radke

“The fact of the injustice is when the council states the reason is for equality and fairness,” Ms Holzheimer said.

“If they opened their eyes, they would see that our village is not equal to any other multi-unit villages. That is the basis of my argument with the council but they won’t see it.”

Ms Holzheimer also said given residents at Oak Tree can’t “own” their unit, they shouldn’t be charged at a similar rate to those who can.

“The current rate is a bit over $400,000 for a two bedroom villa,” Ms Holzheimer said.

“But that gives you just a license to reside, it does not give you ownership of your villa or your home.”

Ms Zeiger said she had a different view to Ms Holzheimer.

“For all intents and purposes, it is their dwelling,” she said.

“Yes, you’ve done it through a different contract, but you’ve got a property. You’re able to sell the property and that kind of thing.”

Ms Zeiger also said that pensioners, who occupy 71 of the 77 units at Oak Tree, would be eligible for a $320 annual rebate for the charge, bringing the proposed amount down to $753 per dwelling per year.

However Ms Holzheimer said that this rebate is a “drop in the ocean” for pensioners living week-to-week.

“We come from an era where there was no superannuation, women didn’t work,” she said.

“So we have got a lot of women in this village who are widowed, and we have quite a few old men who have been widowed.

“They’re on single pensions, and they probably used all their money to get in here in the first place. They can’t afford (the rate increase) minus a little bit of rebate.”

Ms Zeiger acknowledged the proposed change was a “big jump”, but said the proposal was all about creating “equity and fairness” among the community.

“Everybody uses the roads, everybody uses the septic and the water. You know, in these times, everything’s going up for everybody,” she said.

“You’ve got to think - you’ve got a lady say who’s in her 80s and she’s got an old home and she’s paying full rates.

“Of course, council – we’re struggling at the moment as well, because everything that we do or build has gone up, you know, just ridiculously. So we’re trying to make sure that we can keep our levels of service.

“It will be a very minimal weekly increase. We don’t want to send anybody broke. It’s not the purpose of it. It’s just to make everything fair.

“(Retirement village residents) are valued and they are important and they do play a great part in our community and everybody contributes in our community.”

“Yes, the money is going to be a huge issue, but it’s the principle of the thing,” Ms Holzheimer said of the proposal. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ms Holzheimer was also disappointed about not being included in a meeting between Ms Zeiger, the council’s chief financial officer Lisa Whitton and Oak Tree’s manager and chief financial officer on Thursday, March 13.

Ms Holzheimer said she was originally told she would be able to attending the meeting.

“I had prepared questions on behalf of residents only to be told that residents were no longer allowed,” she said.

Ms Zeiger said “it wasn’t that anything was being hidden” from residents in the meeting.

“That very first meeting was because we didn’t know what contracts Oak Tree actually had with their residents, and we didn’t want to have a big meeting going in and not knowing what they’re paying and how it works.

“I explained that to Ms Holzheimer. And I said, I will come back as soon as we’ve worked out how it’s going to work. I promise you, I will be there. I’m happy to sit down with everybody at once or individually and go through it.”

“What will happen now, Ms Zeiger said, “is we’ll take on all the feedback from all of the villages, and then the offices will put all that together and present it to the councillors at a workshop. And with that, they’ll have recommendations … we might do it in instalments.

“I’m not sure when the recommendations will come to us but with the budget looming, I’m sure it won’t be long,” she said.

Originally published as 800 per cent rate increase: Council’s proposal angers retirement village residents