Pyrite-hit homeowners call for property-tax exemption
The Pyrite Action Group has said the property tax announced in the Budget "adds insult to injury" for homeowners who bought affected homes during the boom.
Pyrite was used in the foundations of some homes. When exposed to air or water it becomes unstable, causing cracks and buckling of walls and floors.
The group said pyrite homes essentially had no market value, adding that a property tax exemption should have been extended to affected homes.
Secretary of the Pyrite Action Group Sandra Lewis said the new tax was unfair, as these homes do not satisfy the most basic building regulations.
"They're structurally unsound homes," she said. "The bulk of people bought these homes at the height of the boom and paid vast amount of stamp duty on them.
"It just seems really unfair to then hit them with a property tax…
"As a group we don't have an issue with the property tax itself…Once the homes are (fixed) we will be absolutely happy to pay the property tax like everybody else, but why would you pay property tax on a home that's crumbling around you? It makes no sense."
