Auckland Council has confirmed the process for disputing decisions, to help property owners who want to dispute certain elements of the categorisation and buy-out process.
What a property owner can dispute
Property owners can dispute:
- the property category they are given
- the market valuation (as at 26 January 2023) to be used in the buy-out offer.
A property owner can also dispute the outcome of an application made under the special circumstances provision or the outcome of a decision relating to an uninsured individual circumstances application.
How to raise a dispute
Property owners have three months from receiving their property categorisation to dispute the category. Property owners in the buy-out process have one month after receiving the market valuation to dispute the valuation.
To raise a category dispute, complete this form and email it to recoveryreview@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
To raise a valuation dispute please speak to your property advisor, who will be in touch with you to discuss your Category 3 property buy-out when you are at that stage of the process.
How a dispute is managed
Categorisation: When you raise a category dispute, the council will complete an internal technical review about the decision and provide a response as soon as possible.
If you are still unhappy with the outcome, we will try to resolve the matter with a ‘without prejudice’ meeting. This meeting will usually be between the homeowner’s technical experts and the council technical leads but may involve others. Without prejudice means any statements made during the meeting cannot be used later against the party that made them. The process is intended to allow homeowners and experts to delve into areas of disagreement and to understand any differences between technical experts. Homeowners have one month to request this meeting after receiving their category review.
If the dispute can’t be resolved by this meeting, homeowners can seek a further external review by an independent expert. Homeowners can request this within 25 working days of receiving the outcome of the ‘without prejudice’ meeting. That independent decision is then final.
Valuation: If the homeowner is unhappy with the market valuation (as at 26 January 2023) they have the opportunity to provide another valuation from a registered valuer for consideration by Auckland Council.
If the council declines to revise the valuation, the homeowner has one month to apply to have the valuation dispute determined by an independent valuer of their choosing from council’s panel of experts subject to availability. That independent decision is final.
Special Circumstances
We know that everyone has very different situations, so property owners are able to apply to have their special circumstances considered. In exceptional cases, the council may need to depart from the buy-out policy positions where departure in an individual case is consistent with the council’s policy objectives.
It is important to note that financial hardship is not a factor that will be considered in determining whether special circumstances apply.
A Special Circumstances application can be made at any stage in the process.
Uninsured Individual Circumstances
You can apply for Auckland Council to consider your individual circumstances if you consider that there are reasons why it would be reasonable and fair for the council to reduce your uninsured homeowner contribution (of 20%) to the same level as for insured homes (of 5%).
Situations where the council may consider that it’s appropriate to reduce the contribution to the same level as for insured homes include where:
- there was little or no insurable loss suffered as a result of the events
- you were not able to obtain insurance at the date of the events because of previous severe weather events (but you can demonstrate a previous relevant history of house insurance premium payments)
- you were uninsured at the date of the events but can demonstrate a relevant history of payment of house insurance premiums.
Dispute Resolution Framework
The Category 3 Homeowner Handbook includes the full Dispute Resolution Framework in the appendix. A copy of this handbook is provided to property owners at the time of confirming their Category 3 status.
More information
For more information on how to raise a dispute or apply for Special Circumstances and Uninsured Individual Circumstances go to www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/review
FAQs
You’ll find a full set of recovery FAQs here.
What can a property owner dispute?
Property owners can dispute:
- the property category they are given
- the market valuation (as at 26 January 2023) to be used in the buy-out offer.
A property owner can also dispute the outcome of an application made under the special circumstances provision or the outcome of a decision relating to the individual circumstance of an uninsured homeowner.
[UPDATED 17/04/25] How long does a property owner have to dispute their property categorisation or valuation?
Property owners have three months from receiving their property categorisation to dispute the category. This timeline recognises that property owners will want to thoroughly consider the category given and seek their own advice about it.
Property owners have one month after receiving the market valuation to dispute the valuation. Please note all Sales and Purchase Agreements need to be fully signed by 19 December 2025 (noting that settlements may continue into early 2026).
How do you raise a dispute?
We recognise the importance of having a process by which people can seek review of these decisions.
To raise a category dispute, complete this form and email it to recoveryreview@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
Does a property owner need legal advice to raise a dispute?
Not specifically to raise a dispute but we recommend that all property owners should seek independent advice from an expert if required.
How long will disputes take to be resolved?
The timeline will be different for every dispute as it depends on the situation. A response will be provided as soon as possible but some will be more complex than others.
[UPDATED 17/04/25] Is there an option for an independent review if a property owner is not happy with the internal council review of a dispute?
If a homeowner is not happy with the outcome of their categorisation dispute, we will try to resolve the issue through a “without prejudice” meeting. This meeting will usually be between the homeowner’s technical experts and the council technical leads but may involve others. Without prejudice means any statements made during the meeting cannot be used later against the party that made them. The process is intended to allow homeowners and experts to delve into areas of disagreement and to understand any differences between technical experts. Homeowners have one month to request this meeting after receiving their category review.
If the dispute can’t be resolved by this meeting, homeowners can seek a further external review by an independent expert. Homeowners can request this within 25 working days of receiving the outcome of the “without prejudice” meeting. That independent decision is then final.
For a valuation dispute, the homeowner has one month after receiving the outcome of the internal review to apply to have the valuation dispute determined by an independent valuer of their choosing from council’s panel of approved experts (subject to availability). That independent decision is final.
Where the owner is engaging a valuer, they cannot use any of the independent valuers that council is using to determine the council valuation. Those valuers are aware of this, and they are North Harbour Valuers, Opteon, CBRE, Seagars and Seagars Manukau.
If the owner has submitted their own valuation in the process of agreeing the market valuation (as at 26 January 2023), then the council’s valuer and the owner's valuer will meet to try and negotiate a jointly agreed value. If the two valuers are unable to agree on a joint valuation, or the owner does not agree to it, then the owner can request to move to the valuation dispute process.
The owner then signs an agreement agreeing to the binding valuation dispute process and chooses an independent valuer from the council’s panel of approved experts (subject to availability). That valuer then determines the market valuation and this determination is binding on both council and the owner, and the previous valuations are no longer applicable. The owner then has the option to accept this binding independent valuation or opt out of the buy-out process.
How can impacted communities participate in discussions about the set-up of the disputes process?
The dispute resolution framework has been approved by Auckland Council’s Storm Recovery Political Advisory Group and includes an option for a review by an independent expert.
[UPDATE 17/04/2025] What is the difference between Special Circumstances and disputes? is there a different process and/or criteria?
We know that everyone has very different situations, so property owners are able to apply to have their special circumstances considered. In exceptional cases, the council may need to depart from the buy-out policy positions where departure in an individual case is consistent with the council’s policy objectives.
Special circumstances decisions will be made in line with council’s Guidance on the Application of Special Circumstances, which is included in the Category 3 Homeowner Handbook. A copy of this handbook is provided to property owners at the time of confirming their Category 3 status.
A Special Circumstances application can be made at any stage in the process and is different to a dispute where the owner is specifically unhappy with a decision the council has made - for example, the property category they are given and/or the market valuation. The special circumstances form needs to be downloaded, completed and emailed to recoveryreview@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. The special circumstances form is available on the disputes page of Auckland Council website, under ‘special circumstances’ .
Please note: If a special circumstances application relates to the council’s categorisation decision, a homeowner has three months from receiving their property category within which to raise special circumstances for the council’s consideration in relation to that categorisation decision.
If a special circumstances application seeks a departure from the Buyout Scheme Terms, a homeowner can raise an application at any point during the buyout process, however all special circumstances applications related to the operation of the Buyout Scheme Terms must be received by council no later than one month from a homeowner receiving council’s purchase offer.
