Why have my rates or land tax amount increased?

It is important to carefully review your rates and land tax notices and compare them to previous years to understand why the amount payable may have increased.

Reasons that your amount payable has increased from previous years are:

  1. Rate in the dollar charged has increased – this is set by the respective rating authority that has issued your rates or land tax notice e.g. your local council, water provider or Office of State Revenue. All inquiries in this instance are to be made to the rating authority issuing the billing notice.
  2. Council levies, such as rubbish collection, have increased – this is set by your local council. All inquiries in this instance are to be made to your local council.
  3. Gross Rental Value (GRV) or Unimproved Value (UV) have changed – this is the valuation completed by Landgate for your property.

You can find out more about how the GRV and UV are calculated. For further inquiries please contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

Why are my rates more than my neighbour?

There may be several reasons why your rates differ from your neighbour:

  1. Are you both within the boundaries of the same local government area? If not, the rate in the dollar charged by the local council may differ.
  2. The dwellings may be different. Building area, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, carports and garages affect the Gross Rental Value (GRV).
  3. Other building and property attributes such as age, construction materials and a below ground pool may affect the GRV.
  4. Locational attributes such as views and busy roads (for example, one of the houses may be on a corner block next to a busy road) may affect the GRV.
  5. Even though your property may have a lower GRV, some local councils will have a minimum GRV threshold that is used to calculate rates.
  6. GRVs are calculated in two methods depending on the property type. This will depend if the property is Land & Building or Land only (no building). Information can be found at GRV.

If you have any further queries, contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

Can I object to my GRV or UV?

Any property owner who does not agree with their Gross Rental Value (GRV) or Unimproved Value (UV) may lodge an objection. For your objection to be considered:

  • GRV objection - Provide rental evidence or pertinent supporting information at (or around) the date of valuation (DoV) that shows the assessment is too high or too low, compared to similar properties within your local government area that have the same physical and locational attributes. Find your latest DoV.
  • UV objection – Provide vacant land sales evidence or pertinent supporting information at (or around) the date of valuation (DoV) of 1 August of the previous year, that shows the assessment is too high or too low, compared to similar properties that have the same physical and locational attributes.
  • Lodge an objection within 60 days of the date of issue of your council rates, water rates or land tax notice.

Where can I find rental evidence to support my objection?

When researching for rental evidence, please check that your evidence is based on, or around, the latest date of valuation and that the evidential properties have comparable attributes to your property.

Some websites* that may assist you with your investigation are:

You may also consider approaching your local real estate agency, who may be able to provide you a service to assist with your research. Alternatively, a private valuation company may be engaged to provide a valuation for the property.

* Website links current as at the date the page was published. Please contact Landgate to advise if links require updating.

How do I lodge an objection on my Gross Rental Value or Unimproved Value?

Before you lodge an objection, please have a look at our helpful resources

  • Read the detailed information on GRV or UV
  • Watch the videos on GRV and UV
  • Contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

If you still believe your GRV or UV is incorrect, please complete the following actions to ensure that your objection can be assessed by Landgate:

  1. You complete the objection form. Please complete all sections of the objection form and ensure it is signed by the property owner or an authority to represent, with a letter of authorisation signed by the property owner to act on their behalf.
  2. You can check the objection is ready for submission with the objection checklist.
  3. For GRV, rental evidence or pertinent supporting information on comparable properties, as at (or around) the date of valuation (DoV) is included as an attachment with the objection form. Find your latest DoV.
  4. For UV, comparable vacant land sales evidence or pertinent supporting information as at (or around) the date of valuation (DoV) is included as an attachment with the objection form. Please note that land associated with units in a strata plan is valued as a single UV. Find your latest DoV.
  5. The objection form must be submitted to Landgate within 60 days of the date of issue of your council rates, water rates or land tax notice.
  6. A separate objection form must be lodged for each property, or when objecting to the GRV and UV for the same property.

Download the objection form.

Submit your objection form with the mandatory evidence or supporting information:

By Email (for your convenience):
vs@landgate.wa.gov.au

By Post:
The Valuer-General
Landgate
PO Box 2222
Midland WA 6936

In Person:
The Valuer-General
Landgate
1 Midland Square
Midland

If you have any inquiries, contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

What happens once my objection is lodged?

Following receipt of your objection, Landgate will take the following steps to a resolution.

Gross Rental Value (GRV) objection

  1. Your application and supporting documentation (e.g. rental evidence on comparable properties as at date of valuation) will be reviewed, to verify that Landgate has been provided with the required information to assess your objection. You will be notified within 5 working days if further information is required or to advise that we can proceed with your request.
  2. Once we have all the required information your objection will be allocated to a valuer. The valuer will review the evidence provided, analyse the information against property market values as at the date of valuation and assess the individual property attributes to confirm a fair rental value for the property.
  3. Once the review has been completed, the valuer will contact you to discuss their findings.
  4. You will be informed by letter of the Valuer-General’s final decision; either that the objection is ‘disallowed’ (the original GRV is deemed valid) or the objection is ‘allowed’ (the GRV has been adjusted).
  5. Landgate will inform all rating authorities if the GRV has been adjusted. These authorities will adjust any rates or taxes and provide a refund or credit, if applicable.

Please note, due to the complexity of some objections, Landgate may require up to 12 months for an objection to be finalised.

Unimproved Value (UV) objection

  1. Your application and supporting documentation (e.g. comparable vacant land sales evidence as at date of valuation) will be reviewed, to verify that Landgate has been provided with the required information to assess your objection. You will be notified within 5 working days if further information is required or to advise that we can proceed with your request.
  2. Once we have all the required information your objection will be allocated to a valuer. The valuer will review the evidence provided, analyse the information against property market values as at the date of valuation and review the individual property attributes to confirm a fair Unimproved Value for the property.
  3. Once the review has been completed, the valuer will contact you to discuss their findings.
  4. You will be informed by letter of the Valuer-General’s final decision; either that the objection is ‘disallowed’ (the original UV is deemed valid) or the objection is ‘allowed’ (the UV has been adjusted).
  5. Landgate will inform all rating authorities if the UV has been amended. These authorities will adjust any rates or taxes and provided a refund, if applicable.

Please note, due to the complexity of some objections, Landgate may require up to 12 months for an objection to be finalised.

Should I still pay my rates or land tax, when I lodge an objection?

All rating authorities require property owners to pay their rates or land tax by the due date, even when an objection has been lodged with the Valuer-General at Landgate.

Once a decision has been made by the Valuer-General, Landgate will communicate any revised Gross Rental Value (GRV) or Unimproved Value (UV) to all relevant rating authorities. These authorities will reference the new assessment, adjust your rates or land taxes where applicable, and provide either a refund (GRV/UV has reduced) or an interim rate notice for additional payment (GRV/UV has increased).

Can I appeal the decision of the Valuer-General?

If you are not satisfied with the decision made by the Valuer-General in response to your objection, you may write to the Valuer-General asking that your objection be referred to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) for a review. Your request is to be made within 60 days of receiving the written decision from the Valuer-General.  The Valuer-General will promptly refer your objection to SAT, who will then commence correspondence with you on this matter.

SAT is an independent body, who has jurisdiction to review the decision made by the Valuer-General. Please refer to the State Administration Tribunal’s website for more information.

Submit your request for an appeal:

By Email (for your convenience):
vs@landgate.wa.gov.au
Subject line: Request a SAT Review

By Post:
Request a SAT Review
The Valuer-General
Landgate
PO Box 2222
Midland WA 6936

In Person:
Request a SAT Review
The Valuer-General
Landgate
1 Midland Square
Midland

For information on Valuer-General publications.

If you have any inquiries, contact the Landgate Customer Service Team.

Page Last Reviewed 1 October 2019