Compensation Valuations for compulsory acquisitions
The expert licensed property valuers at Garmony Property Consultants have comprehensive experience in providing property valuations for land compensation purposes, and acting as advocates or negotiators on behalf of owners and tenants for complex compensation matters. Compensation valuations and negotiations are required as a result of a compulsory acquisition of a whole or part of an owners land by a government authority or from a declined development application due to a public work reservation. Depending on the size and the affect the land being taken has on your property and business, our experienced valuers can assist in two ways. We can either provide a detailed valuation report as your expert valuer or act as your advocate on your behalf and negotiate with the acquiring authority. However we cannot do both due to our industry’s codes of conduct, which we must adhere to.
Providing a detailed expert valuation report
Our years of experience in valuing a broad range of property types enables our expert valuers to provide detailed valuation reports for land compensation purposes as a result of a compulsory acquisition by an acquiring authority. There are generally two parts to the valuation. What is the value of the land being taken, which is generally based on the ‘Before & After Method of Valuation’ and the second part is what ‘Heads of Claim’ or compensation is the dispossessed land owner entitled to under the relevant Act.
In Western Australia, there are two main Acts that dispossessed or affected land owners can claim compensation. The Land Administration Act 1997 (LAA) generally applies to land that is required for a public work such as road widening and the acquiring authority requires the land by a certain time to construct the public work. Section 241 of the LAA provides for the various ‘Heads of Claim’ which the dispossessed land owner can claim for the damage suffered as a result of the land being taken. This not only includes the damage to the remaining land, but also to the business that operates from the land.
The Planning & Development Act 2005 generally applies to land that is reserved and the compensation is triggered when the land owners development application to improve the land is refused due to the reservation. This can include sites that have been zoned as ‘Bush For Ever’ or Parks and Recreation’ or if land has been reserved for future road widening or another pubic work. The Planning and Development Act is more restrictive to the land owner in the level of compensation that is offered and therefore we recommend discussing the situation with our valuers prior to lodging a claim for compensation, to see what the best approach is.
Our experience includes various type of properties from Industrial land holdings, rural lifestyle properties, rural and mining properties including sand and gravel quarries, market gardens, land with subdivision potential, and standard residential properties. Our involvement in these numerous situations, enable us to take into consideration all of the possible damages that the affected land owner will encounter as a result of the proposed public work.
Acting as an Advocate.
In providing this advice for our clients we have the ability to assist them by acting on their behalf for what is often a complex process. We take over the process, by liaising with the acquiring authority and use our detailed experience to negotiate the best possible outcome for the land owner. We approach the process in a similar way to we would as an expert valuer, advising our clients on our opinion of the value of the land being taken, and recommend the appropriate amount that should be claimed for the damage the taking of the land causes to the remaining land and any businesses operating on the land.
Using our valuation skills, knowledge of the relevant Acts and our real estate agency skills to negotiate a fair and equitable outcome for our client, we are often very successful in achieving a positive outcome and compensation payout.
Our previous advocacy work has included compensation for land being taken on caravan parks, industrial properties, retail shops and land subdivisions. We work with our clients, to gain an understanding of their business and pose questions to them in relation to the affect of the land taken to examine if there are any further damages that may be applicable to the property or the business operating from the property, that may not have been initially thought of, to add to the claim and discussions with the acquiring authority.
Under the provisions of the Land Administration Act of 1997, the dispossessed land owner should be in no worse financial position than before the taking of land and our knowledge of the Perth and West Australian Property Market, along with the relevant Heads of Claim under the Land Administration Act of 1997 and the Planning and Development Act of 2005, we are able to provide detailed and important advice to our clients on the various heads of claim relevant to the property and reason for the taking.
We welcome future clients to liaise with Matt Garmony to discuss their requirements for expert compensation advice.