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But free ride for other illegal developments continues.
Add the impact of the new valuation roll and individual Kleinfontein households could see their monthly levy go up from R178 to more than R3 400. Picture: Kleinfontein Facebook page
Following decades of inaction, the City of Tshwane is now clamping down on illegal Afrikaner development Kleinfontein and demanding that it pay its fair share of property rates.
This follows a high court order in August last year, which compelled the city to enforce the law in the settlement situated in the Eastern part of the city, as well as a change in political leadership.
Kleinfontein was established in the 1990s. It allows only “Boere-Afrikaners” to reside in the community, and only “volkseie” (belonging to the nation) labour is permitted.
Kleinfontein currently has more than 600 houses as well as shops, an old-age home, a school building, solar farm, light industrial area, and a museum.
It consists of nine properties, none of which have been rezoned for residential purposes or sub-divided.
There was no formal township establishment, and no building plans were approved by the council.
For rates purposes, the properties have all along been categorised as “agriculture”, which means they are assessed at a quarter of the rate that would apply if the area had been categorised as residential.
Residents buy shares in the share block scheme Kleinfontein Aandeleblok Edms Bpk (KA) and are then allocated a specific piece of land to build on. They have never paid property rates individually.
ALSO READ: High Court declares exclusive Afrikaner township in Pretoria illegal
The categorisation has now changed. Since September the city has recategorised four of the Kleinfontein properties as “non-permitted use”, which means a punitive rate of seven times the residential rate now applies.
According to a notice circulated by Kleinfontein Aandeleblok among residents this resulted in the total rates bill over the nine properties increasing from R5 230 in August to R126 148 in September.
Ben Espach, director of Rates Watch, says the City of Tshwane’s rates policy provides that properties used in contravention of the town planning scheme be charged at a punitive rate and the council should categorise all such properties accordingly.
He explains that council’s rates revenue is collected on a proportional basis – if some pay less than they should, others must pay more to ensure the council gets the revenue it budgeted for.
Compliant owners end up subsidising those who don’t comply with the town planning scheme.
ALSO READ: Questions about illegal Kleinfontein settlement’s own bank
In addition to the recategorisation, the City of Tshwane also just published a new valuation roll that is currently open to objections.
The joint impact of the recategorisation and new valuation on Kleinfontein, according to the Kleinfontein Aandeleblok notice, could leave the community with a rates bill of more than R2 million per month.
The Kleinfontein Inwonersvereniging (residents’ association) states in a press release that, if divided among households, this would result in a monthly rates bill of more than R3 400 each, compared to the current monthly levy payable to Kleinfontein Aandeleblok of R178 in relation to property rates.
According to Moneyweb’s sources, that would be completely unaffordable for most of the residents.
Kleinfontein Aandeleblok says in its notice that it will object to the new valuations and drive the formalisation of development. It maintains that its application has been with the city council since 2013 but the council has done nothing about it.
Once formalised, the properties will be recategorised to “residential” and the rates will drop significantly, it says.
It says it is also considering legal action against the “authorities,” but does not elaborate.
ALSO READ: Exclusive Afrikaner township defends legality after court orders Tshwane to enforce bylaws
Republican Congress of Tshwane city council member Lex Middelberg says the council has failed to recategorise several other illegal developments, as it has done with Kleinfontein.
According to Middelberg, the homeowners in three such developments he checked, including Leeuwfontein and another one near Prestige College in Hammanskraal, pay less than five cents a month if the rates on the undivided property are divided equally among them.
“It is unfair. These people live in luxurious houses, but other residents must subsidise them.”
Rates Watch’s Espach says the “non-permitted use” category is a handy tool municipalities could use to enforce town planning schemes.
Middelberg has called on Tshwane residents to look not only at the new valuations of their own properties, but also those of surrounding properties to see if the valuations are fair. If not, they can submit objections to the valuations of those properties as well.
He says the Republican Congress of Tshwane is currently studying the valuation roll and will be submitting its inputs.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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