NEWS

Property owners given the opportunity to determine rates

Property owners in the City of Johannesburg are to be afforded an opportunity to object to the municipal valuation roll through a carefully coordinated programme, which will run for 45 days.
The draft roll will be available for inspection and objection from Tuesday, 20 February, until Friday, 6 April 2018. Ratepayers will first be given the opportunity to inspect the general valuation roll from the first date of publication, before lodging any objections with the municipal valuer.
“Property owners within the boundaries of the Johannesburg metro have the right to inspect the general valuation roll and object to an entry or against an omission from the roll,” explains the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Finance, Funzela Ngobeni.
Once the roll has been finalised, objections will only be allowed through a specific, legally determined process, adds MMC Ngobeni.
The proposed 2018 Valuation Roll has recorded about 879 005 properties within the Johannesburg metropolitan area. Each property value is linked to its market value, which is a determinant of the rates payable by each owner.
The valuation roll will be valid for four years and customer rates will be calculated on the same value for that period unless changes have been made that may affect the property’s value.
“A General Valuation Roll forms the basis for the levying of property rates. Owners who want to dispute the value of their properties should complete objection forms and attach supportive documents,” says MMC Ngobeni.
Ratepayers can handover their objections to valuation staff at any one of the 12 identified venues citywide. The valuation review will start immediately after the objection period ends and will be done by the municipal valuer.
The imminent General Valuation Roll will be implemented on Sunday, 1 July 2018; it’ll also be available on the City’s website www.joburg.org.za. Once implemented, the Municipal Valuation Roll will contain a description of the property, the category in which it falls, it’s physical address; the market value and the owner’s name, to mention a few.
Property owners may inspect the roll within the specified period and lodge an objection against any of the entries. “Ratepayers should, however, include the reason for objecting to the valuation, along with evidence,” adds MMC Ngobeni.
The City Manager, Dr Ndivho Lukhwareni will, at the end of the inspection period, submit all objections to the Municipal Valuer. Property owners should note that the lodging of objections does not defer the liability for payment of rates and taxes.
“If the value of your property changes subsequent to the objection process, you will be refunded or billed the difference with interest,” MMC Ngobeni says.

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