Levy slams the handyman

A North Shore couple wanted to build a $5000 kitchen in their basement rumpus room. What they got was an $18,296 council levy.

Barry and Vanessa Lynn, of Browns Bay, are asking the North Shore City Council to reassess their development contribution fee.

The new council levy on property developers is slamming home-handymen and small-scale subdividers with thousands of dollars of extra costs.

The Lynns said it was unfair for small alterations to be levied on the same basis as if it were a property subdivision or building a new home.

But the council's strategic management committee refused to change the policy which, when introduced in July, was touted as a fairer way to pay for the costs of growth.

Confirming the couple's bill would stand, committee chairman Gary Holmes said the council knew that small developments would be caught up in the levy.

"But if you differentiate on size where do you draw the line? Even a single-lot subdivision has an impact on the infrastructure.

"A lot of properties have the room to take a minor unit out the back of their lot so we consider a minor dwelling is like an extra household."

But Mr Lynn said later he did not accept the reasoning behind his bill. He was just a home-handyman who wanted to turn a basement into a self-contained, one-bedroom flat.

"We wanted to do everything by the council regulations. The thing is, a lot of people are doing such work, and the council's charges will drive a lot of people underground and more illegal dwellings will be completed.

"Surely the council wants people to comply with the fire and sound regulations."

Mr Lynn said he approached the councillast March to determine the cost, but no one could tell him.

The Lynns' appeal was a test for the council's policy of classing a minor residential unit or granny flat as an additional household unit, thus qualifying for the levy.

Manukau City Council has a policy where small household units of 40 sq m and less pay only half the contribution of a normal house. This applies to studio and one-bedroom apartments as well as granny flats.

The Lynns said their flat was 41 sq m.Mr Holmes said his council would not copy Manukau."You could end up with a lot of 40 sq m places - people do it to fit."

He said the council's policy on development contributions had received the thumbs-up from two independent examiners.

The council expects development contributions to pay for about 20 per cent of the $1 billion works programme over the next decade.

A staff report to the committee said changes in the treatment of minor units would have "significant implications" for the revenue forecasts in the city plan.

The schedule of charges for development contributions would need to rise to compensate, and all cases similar to the Lynns' would need to be reviewed.