Community Building Rental - Council Policy

Community Outcome

Outcome Area F, Enjoying Hamilton

Hamilton provides a full range of recreational land, facilities and services to meet the community's passive and active leisure needs.

Objective

To set rents for organisations using Council-owned buildings to deliver community services at levels which reflect the cost of service and the nature of the organisation.

Policy

1. Council will not usually provide buildings for community groups.  It may make available existing Council-owned buildings to organisations which support the delivery of services to be provided by the community.  Other buildings not immediately required by Council may be made available to organisations during the economic life of the building.

2. Organisations using Council-owned buildings will be subject to the Community Organisations Lease Deed.

3. Organisations partnering Council to deliver a service will be subject to a Council approved Service Level Agreement including monitoring and review provisions.

4. The nominal market rental for Council owned buildings leased to organisations will be 10% of the estimated Rating Improvement Valuation component of the current Rating Capital Valuation. Which will form the basis for negotiated leases.

• Lessees subject to a Service Level Agreement shall be charged the nominal market rental which will be considered when calculating the operating grant provided by Council.
• If any Lessees which are either an Incorporated Society or a Charitable Trust and are using a council owned building to meet their objectives they shall be charged a rental rate calculated on a per square metre cost recovery basis for that building including maintenance, compliance and insurance costs but excluding capital expenditure.  The rental rate to be reviewed every 3 years and from August 2007 will be $12 per m2.
• Lessees which are considered by Council to be quasi-commercial organisations shall be charged a negotiated rent.

5. The difference between the nominal market rent and the actual rent charged, whether positive or negative shall be calculated and shown in the Council’s accounts as the cost of accommodation supporting community services.

6. If the averaged three year cost for maintenance as determined by the three yearly asset maintenance programme exceeds 10% of the building’s Rating Improvement Valuation then a review of the building’s economic use will be undertaken.

7. The term of any lease of a building will not exceed the economic use of the building.

Previous Review Dates

15 August 2007