This was due to incorrect zoning of some multi-purpose use properties by the City of Joburg.
“If a property is zoned business it will be rated as such, irrespective of usage,” said Stan Maphologela, spokesperson for city council’s group finance.
“Sectional title properties are billed business rates where they are zoned business, even if they are used for residential purposes.”
Maphologela admitted there were residential properties which had been previously billed residential rates and were now being billed business rates due to zoning.
“This has been corrected in this year’s policy review process, as this will have a negative impact on the customers as the business rate is higher than the residential rate.”
However, the onus was on affected ratepayers to have the matter rectified by applying for a residential rating with the city council.
Until then ratepayers were expected to pay the inflated rates being charged on their residential properties.
Jackie Smith, who is one of many ratepayers who has been hard hit by business rates was now more than R30 000 in arrears, accused the city council of bullying residents into paying costs that they were not liable for.
Smith, who owns a flat in a building that comprises three businesses and 15 other residential flats, said she had been going back and forth with the city council since it began charging her business rates without any notification in 2008.
According to Smith, documents received from the building’s managing agents specified that the building was categorised mixed usage, and the general valuation roll indicated that the property was categorised as sectional title and made no reference to business rates.
“It said nothing about business and we were not informed, so we had no reason to question it,” she said.
“When they began charging business rates we continued to pay residential rates, adding on to the amount each year, because we could not afford the business rates and did not believe that we were liable.”
Despite paying R500 in 2009 to have her flat reinstated as residential, the city council only acknowledged this a year later in a letter confirming that the unit had been re-categorised as a residence, but continued to charge Smith business rates.
She discovered that despite the letters of acknowledgement, the unit’s category was only changed on the February 2013 valuation roll, after which the city council momentarily began charging her residential rates and then reverted to charging business rates.
After completing another set of the same forms that she submitted in 2009, Smith finally had her flat categorised as a residence this year, but her troubles continued.
Smith claimed that the municipality had ignored documentation proving that the property was categorised as a residence while she was being charged business rates, and further refused to clear her earlier accumulated debt after not paying the business rates. The city council argued that she only objected to the categorisation after the valuation roll for that period had closed, despite documents proving otherwise.
Ward councillor Steven Kruger, who had been assisting Smith with the matter, said this was not an isolated circumstance.
“This is a bigger problem although it is the only one that I am aware of in my ward.”
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein ruled that the City of Joburg would have to recalculate the rateable values of a high-rise residential building in Hillbrow with residential and commercial portions.
The court ruled that the residential building with shops on the ground floor should be categorised as multi-purpose.
