Real estate owned by a private trust or private company 043-04060040

Real estate owned by a private trust or company can be an exempt asset for one controller, and an assessable asset for another controller(s).

A Special Disability Trust (SDT) may own real estate that is the principal beneficiary's home. An SDT must not own any business property or farm or holiday home used by a related party (for example, the business premises of a small family business) even if market rent is paid.

A customer occupying a house owned by a private company or trust is considered a homeowner if they are an attributable stakeholder. A customer may be considered a homeowner even if they are not an attributable stakeholder of the company. This will continue to be the case if the customer has a right or interest in their accommodation that gives them reasonable security of tenure.

Real estate is assessed as either a primary production asset or a non-primary production asset. If assessed as primary production, then the primary production aggregation rules may apply.

Real estate is recorded on the entity's record.

Unlike real estate owned by an individual customer, the real estate owned by an entity will not be included for selection for annual indexation or automatically chosen for review.

A valuation should be obtained unless the property has been purchased or professionally valued within the last 12 months. The customer must provide a copy of the purchase documents or valuation, and this value should be used. However, if the customer's estimate differs to the purchase price or valuation, a valuation should be obtained before grant, unless it is clear the real estate value will not affect the rate of payment. In these cases, request a valuation after grant. In the CAO assessment DOC advise the assessing Service Officer after the claim has been granted, to escalate to CAO using the T&C real estate valuation Fast Note.

For annual reviews, if a customer is attributed with the assets of a trust or company and the real estate has not been formally valued within the last 24 months, a valuation should be obtained as part of a Trust and Company program review. A higher valuation cannot be applied until the date the valuation is returned. The review can be finalised pending the return of the valuation. See Valuation of real estate and other assets.

Valuations can be applied after grant unless:

• the estimate is unreasonable, or
• customer is claiming PBS (Pension Bonus Scheme) or PBBS (Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment)

A valuation can also be requested:

• if the value has significantly increased or reduced, or
• if there has been a significant change to the property, or
• where the customer's estimate is considered unreasonable

For property located overseas owned by a private trust or company, see Valuation of real estate and other assets.

A DOC will appear on the entity record when the valuation has been completed. Details for coding are included on the DOC.

To request action by a CAO for a valuation of real estate owned by a private trust or private company, create an open work item. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Complex Assessment > Request for CAO action > T&C real estate valuation.