Kate Washington (pictured), NSW Minister for Families, Communities & Disability Inclusion and the local MP for Port Stephens, is critical of the land lease communities, where residents do not pay rates.
Steve Peart, Port Stephens Council Group Manager Development Services, said each manufactured home estate is usually a single parcel of land owned by a single business entity and rated as a business paying the higher business rate.
“As homesites in estates have some shared services, the NSW Valuer General cannot issue a separate valuation for each home site or residence,” he said.
“Councils are not permitted to calculate rates on a per capita basis, or any other basis apart from land value and land category in NSW.
“It is fair to say that legislation has not kept pace with these developments, so the apparent inequities continue.”
He said Council is actively advocating to the State Government for reform concerning lifestyle villages, and is currently working with the NSW Department of Planning in combination with other councils, such as MidCoast Council.
“Council has also taken the opportunity to make strong representation to IPART when submissions were called into the rating structures in Local Government. These suggestions were not adopted by the State Government.”
13 councils across NSW have now applied to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to increase their income from rates above the 3.7% rate peg.
Port Stephens Council, which has a multitude of Over 55s manufactured home estates including Sunrise, Latitude One, Tallowood, Sandy Shores, Greenside, Homestead, Bayway, The Cove, Palm Lake Resort and Karuah Waters Estate, is asking residents to pay an extra 9.5% on rates for the next three years.
The SOURCE: As the land lease sector grows so will the number of regulations imposed.
