A room with a view will come at a high price for apartment owners at a major Australian tourist spot as rates reach new heights.
Gold Coast residents have been slugged with a "view tax" by the local council, with rates determined by a high-rise unit's floor number.
The higher the apartment, the bigger the rate increase with some unit owners copping a rise of up to 50 per cent.
More than 12,000 apartments are currently affected amid a cost of living and housing crisis.
"Colloquially known as a 'view tax' ... this is an arbitrary way of raising rates masked as creating greater equity," Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella said.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate vowed rate rises would be kept to an average of 4.24 per cent when the council budget was handed down in June.
Locals are complaining they only discovered the "view tax" when post-budget rate notices lobbed last week.
Others have protested that they have to cop the increase despite their view being obscured by other buildings amid a high-rise development boom along the Gold Coast's light rail corridor.
However, Mr Tate was not around to hear any criticism after leaving for the Paris Olympics post-budget.
Gold Coast City Council said the change was made to "ensure fairness and equity across all ratepayer categories".
A spokesperson said the changes reflected the impact a unit's height and size had on a property's value.
"Under the previous method, a first-floor high-rise principal place of residence unit may have paid the same general rates as a 40th floor penthouse," they said.
"This change will also bring rates in line with the method used for other units that are permanent or short-term rentals."
Ms Mercorella said it was a "concerning" move with apartment living set to be part of the solution to Queensland's housing crisis.
Housing is a key issue ahead of Queensland's October election with the state government planning to build one million homes by 2046.
"People are choosing apartment living over freestanding houses largely due to greater affordability and access to shared facilities," Ms Mercorella said in a statement.
"It's nonsensical for a council to assign a derived value capture for views.
"Views are not public infrastructure that the local government provides which they can seek a return on investment - it's the natural environment."
For units higher than the 40th floor, the rate rise was up to 50 per cent.
The rise was 40 per cent for the 21st to 40th levels and up to 30 per cent for the 11th to the 20th floors.
For the fifth to 10th floors, the increase was up to 20 per cent.
There was no rate change for units below level five.
Ms Mercorella said it seemed the "unexpected and unfair" rate hike was based on formulas plucked from the air, warning it could erode the trust of local buyers and homeowners.
"Property owners are not a bottomless money pit," she said.
