‘View tax’ hits Gold Coast high-rise residents

The council has stated that the change will increase equity for apartment dwellers, with owners of expensive penthouses paying more than those who own cheaper ground-floor apartments.

The decision has evoked criticism from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), which described the change as “an arbitrary way of raising rates masked as creating greater equity”.

“People are choosing apartment living over freestanding houses largely due to greater affordability and access to shared facilities,” said REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella.

“They would never have guessed that buying on the 21st floor as opposed to the 20th floor, for example, would come with ongoing penalties.”

Those on levels one to five have seen no rate rise. There has been a 10–20 per cent rise for home owners on levels five to 10, a 20–30 per cent rise for levels 11 to 20, and a 30–40 per cent rise for levels 21 to 40.

Owners of homes above level 40 have seen a 40 to 50 per cent rate increase, or the equivalent of $10.50 to $13 per week.

According to Mercorella, assigning value based on views is “non-sensical”.

“Views are not public infrastructure that the local government provides which they can seek a return on investment – it’s the natural environment,” she said.

“We appreciate that generally speaking, elevation can attract a premium price at the time of sale, particularly when the penthouse is concerned, noting that unless you sell, this value isn’t realised.

“Ultimately, the market will determine the value which will take into account numerous factors unique to that apartment building and the apartment itself,” the CEO stated.

Mercorella said that the view tax was ironic given Queensland’s increasing push to accelerate densification.

She stated: “It’s concerning when you consider we’re all hoping that greater density by ‘building up’ will be part of the solution to our state’s housing crisis.

“If anything, given apartments share facilities, they are often more efficient and less taxing on council services such as roads, sewage, water and rubbish collection.”