Hi everyone,
You may have noticed that the court has ruled on this matter and applicant, Karimbla Properties (aka Meriton) was successful on all counts. The case is Karimbla Properties v Council of the City of Sydney; Bayside City Council; and North Sydney Council [2017] NSWLEC 75 and has been posted to the Case Law section of this website.
The City of Sydney has filed its intention to appeal.
This ruling differs in a few ways to the 2003 Meriton v Parramatta case and has even worse implications for all Councils.
Essentially this ruling means that there is no time limit in which an owner must request a change in category and there is no limit to the number of prior years’ refund if the owner fails to notify of or request a change until years later.
Also, Karimbla argued that ‘vacant land’ could include an unoccupied commercial building – an argument that the court upheld.
