Dear Owners,
We have received the following guide to owners with regards to the New General Property Valuation Roll about to be implemented in Johannesburg from The National Association of Managing Agents and would like to bring these points to your attention. We advise that you please contact council directly in this regard should you have any queries regarding your account with them.
Legislation requires municipalities, every five years, to compile a General Valuation Roll, which assigns a value to every property within the municipality. The City of Johannesburg will commence this exercise on 20th February, 2013 when the Roll is opened to inspection.
Every property owner will receive by post a written notice which advises the owner of the valuation given to his/her/its property. Owners who do not get post delivered to their homes and offices must check their post boxes. Owners who do not receive notices must not assume that their property is unaffected. They must attend at one of the ten Customer Centers at which the new valuation roll will be available. The City has yet to announce the addresses of those centers.
The value which the City must place on a property is the market value as at 1st July, 2012. ?Market value? means the price which a willing buyer would pay a willing seller.
If the owner believes that the assigned value is unrealistic, the owner should consult an estate agent operating in the suburb or area of the property. If the estate agent advises that this is the case, the owner should lodge an objection on the prescribed form. The form should be obtainable at the Customer Centre or can be downloaded from the City website www.joburg.org.za . Different forms are used for different types of properties, for example, residential, sectional title, commercial, vacant and so on. AN OBJECTION BY WAY OF A LETTER WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
The reason for the objection must be clearly set out. If the owner believes that the valuation is excessive, the best way of motivating this is by means of a letter from an estate agent, setting out the correct value and backed up with statistics of recent sales in that suburb or area, which must be attached to the valuation objection form.
Owners may find that their property has been put in the incorrect category. Check your letter carefully. For example, the letter may categorise the property vacant instead of residential. This has serious consequences to the owner?s pocket. Different categories of properties are assessed rates at a higher level. Vacant land, for example is assessed for rates at four times more than residential property. An owner can object to an incorrect classification and the form makes provision for this.
How to check if the property valuation has changed:
The property value is prominently displayed on the front page of the Rates Account. Compare this value to that contained in the City?s notice.
What to watch out for:
? Unless the structures on the property are newly built [or less than five years old], or extensive alterations and additions have recently been done, property values have not increased substantially in the last five years, except in a few select places.
? If the new valuation exceeds 10% of the former value, it is probably out of line. One of the major bank?s data shows that property values in the medium range {R 1.5 million to R 1.7 million] have not increased by more than 9% in the past five years, except in exceptional circumstances.
? Make sure that the property rating category is the same as on the Rates Account, for example, Residential or Residential Sectional Title and not Business or Business Sectional Title or Vacant.
? Anything else that is anomalous
In such cases, submit an objection on the Official Form
Where to submit the objection:
At one of the ten Customer Centers
Get a receipt number when the objection form is handed in:
Owners must have proof that the objection was delivered. There is a tear off slip on the objection form on which the receipt number must be written.
Time Limit:
Owners have seventy [70] days from 20th February, 2013, to submit objections. This is a concession, because the legislation prescribes only thirty [30] days. However, try not to leave things until the last moment.
Rates which owners must pay from 1st July, 2013:
With effect from 1st July, 2013, Owners will have to pay rates on the new value given to the property, even if an objection has been submitted. There are no exceptions. If the objection is upheld, the owner will be credited with rates overpaid. For example, if the new value assigned is R1 750 000 and the owner proves that the correct value is R1 500 000, that owner will be given a credit back-dated to 1st July, 2013. FAILURE TO PAY CAN RESULT IN A SERVICES CUT-OFF.
In the past the City has honored this obligation to adjust accounts.
How long will it take to process an objection?
This will depend on how many objections are received and the number of staff available.
City of Johannesburg Details: 0860-JOBURG 0860 562 874 011 375 5555
Kind regards
Landsdowne Property Management