Family puzzled about CoJ’s R2m property reevaluation

Vivienne Velthuis is baffled and frustrated by the City of Johannesburg’s (COJ) revaluation of her father’s Fourways property.

Michael Purslow’s property was initially valued between R1.6m and R1.8m which Purslow (88) deemed reasonable. However, the city’s revaluation of the property, which saw an increase of R1m, caught them off guard, resulting in a significant financial burden on Purslow’s finances.

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“This house is not worth anything near what they had valued it at,” said Velthuis. “It is too much for his pocket, he has medical aid and food to buy and the rates are too much. – It is not fair to treat pensioners like this.”

Velthuis said they had filed an objection to the reevaluation which was acknowledged by the city, but it remained unresolved, leaving them in limbo.

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“We did not even have any form of correspondence whatsoever [from the city]. We sent in three property valuations to show they had overvalued the property by R1m.”

Kgamanyane Maphologela, the city’s director of communications, explained that the revaluation process is guided by the Municipal Property Rates Act. According to this framework, property values and categories are determined and a comprehensive general valuation roll is compiled, listing all registered properties within the COJ’s jurisdiction.
“The property rate levying process begins with valuation, which determines the market value of a property based on recent sales and market data. The municipal valuer considers current market conditions, including areas with increased, decreased, or stagnant values,” he said.
“Property owners and third parties can object to the valuations within a specified period. Over 40 000 objections were received for the current valuation roll, which started on July 1, 2023, and most have been resolved.”
He added the remaining appeals were being handled by an independent Valuation Appeal Board.
“If the customer missed the opportunity to object, there is an opportunity for the customer to still raise a query with the city’s valuations section. If you have not objected to the value of the property, you can lodge a query by completing the official Section 78 query form which can be requested at the valuations department.”

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