Cheltenham rates notices: Kingston, Bayside and the 1 January value

Cheltenham is split between two councils. Kingston City Council has its offices at 1230 Nepean Highway, Cheltenham, as its notice in the Government Gazette of 13 January 2026 records, while Bayside City Council's description of its municipality includes part of Cheltenham. Two owners in the same suburb can therefore receive rates notices from different councils, with different objection instructions.

Before acting on anything below, check which council's name and logo appear on your notice. That council handles the notice, the payment and any objection to the valuation printed on it.

Both councils start from the same state valuation

Neither council values Cheltenham homes itself. Valuer-General Victoria's page on council rating valuations says every rateable property is revalued each year with a valuation date of 1 January, and that council rate and valuation notices are typically issued between July and September.

Kingston's rating valuations page says current values were determined on 1 January 2026 and apply for Kingston's rating purposes from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Bayside's rates valuation page says valuations have been annual since 2019, after being done every two years before then.

In practice, a notice that reaches a Cheltenham letterbox in August 2026 describes the property as it stood on 1 January 2026. A sale in your street in the following months does not appear in it.

CIV, site value and NAV

Kingston's understanding your rates page says your share of rates is set by your property value, and that three valuations appear on the notice. It describes capital improved value, or CIV, as the total market value of the land plus buildings and other improvements. Net annual value is 5 per cent of CIV for residential dwellings, and for other properties is based on net annual rental.

Site value is the land alone, valued as if it had no buildings on it. Because CIV already includes the land, the two figures are not added together.

Two state charges also rely on these figures. The State Revenue Office says the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund replaced the fire services property levy from 1 July 2025 and is collected through council rates. Its variable component is a rate set for the property's classification multiplied by the CIV. Land tax, where it applies, uses site value instead.

Why rates can rise when your value does not

Kingston says the 2026/27 rate cap is 2.75 per cent, but the cap limits the average increase across all properties, not each bill. What matters is how your value moved compared with the average movement across Kingston.

Hypothetical example: a Cheltenham house whose CIV stayed flat while the municipal average fell would carry a larger share of the rates than the year before. The bill can rise even though the valuation did not.

Objecting within two months

Valuer-General Victoria's objection guidance says an objection must be in writing in most cases, lodged within 2 months of the notice being given, and must state the grounds. Objections to a rates notice go to the council, not to the Valuer-General.

Kingston says its ratepayers have two months from the notice issue date and must lodge online through the rating valuation objections portal. It will not take objections by phone or in person, and warns the process can take several months. Bayside says you have two months from the date the valuation and rate notice was served, and that it cannot extend this deadline.

A land tax assessment is separate. The SRO says objections to the value on a land tax notice go to the SRO within 2 months of the assessment's issue date.

Useful evidence is specific to the property: sales of genuinely similar Cheltenham homes close to 1 January, photographs of condition at that time, and anything the valuer may not know, such as an easement, a damaged wet area or work left unfinished.

Supplementary valuations after building or subdivision

Kingston issues a supplementary valuation when a change affects the value, such as building work, demolition, subdivision or rezoning. It says these are not processed between February and June and that a standard one takes about three months. An owner who replaces a house with townhouses should expect a new notice rather than waiting for the next 1 January.

A rating figure is not a sale or tax figure

Bayside says plainly that its valuations take effect on 1 January and do not reflect current market conditions. A CIV is a mass valuation for sharing out rates. It is not prepared for a sale, a family transfer, a capital gains tax calculation or an SMSF audit.

If you need a signed market value at a particular date, order a certified valuation for your Cheltenham property. If you are unsure which report the purpose needs, contact us with the address, purpose and date, or read the valuation FAQ.