Durban - The eThekwini Municipality announced on Wednesday that property owners in the city of Durban who are unhappy with their valuations can file for an objection.
The process entails you going onto the www.durban.gov.za website, clicking on the 2022 valuation banner and following the prompts thereafter.
The owner will then have to select whether they have a full or sectional title, enter their rate number, property description or physical address and find their corresponding profile.
You will then have to download an objection form and submit a completed version of it to the municipal offices at 75 Dr Langalibalele Dube Street (former Winder Street), in the Durban CBD.
eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said that the process allows more flexibility in granting relief to the poor, medically boarded persons and pensioners.
The revaluation takes place once every four years.
“It allows us to ensure people are rated in a fair and equitable manner. In terms of the MPRA, we requested and were granted an extension of the current valuation roll due to Covid-19 challenges. This resulted in the existing valuation roll now being valid for five years, ending June 30, 2022,” Mayisela said.
According to operations manager at Pam Golding Properties in Durban, Waseem Ally, objecting to your property valuation can prove to be a double edged sword.
On one hand, if the value of your property is higher than what the municipality said it was, you can be paying a higher rate for your property. It could also mean that you could fetch a higher price if you decide to sell the property.
The municipality values properties by referencing similar properties in the neighbourhood that have been sold around the date of valuation. Whereas a real estate company conducts a more in-depth inspection of the property.
This is because the number of properties in the city is greater than the physical capacity of the municipality.
“Once every four years, properties have to be revalued. This process is in line with the Rates Act. The municipality is obliged to undertake this valuation process, however, it is not possible for them to go visit each property.
“What they have done now is made the valuation roll public so that people can have a look at it. If an owner has an issue they are allowed to object. In the event of your property being valued at R7 million and they (municipality) value it at R8.5 million, that will mean quite a substantial increase to your rates. Property rates work with the value of your property, the higher your value is, the higher your rates will be,” Ally told IOL on Wednesday.
The Municipal Rates Act 6 of 2004, among other things, seeks to regulate the power of a municipality to impose rates on a specific property. The act has been amended three times since its commencement, according to the provincial government website.
You can find a full copy of the act here.