[PROPERTY] “The municipal conspiracy”

Brian Charlebois of Flynn Estates writes: 

You probably got a nasty surprise when the City Of Johannesburg sent you their new valuation notice.

You thought it bore little resemblance to the true value of your investment – and you might be right. To be fair there is no ‘bottom line’ value on your property.

Like diamonds, classic cars and fine art, it is completely related to the laws of supply and demand. And the municipality is probably the last place to go for advice on this.

Their motive is to generate increased income from their highly stressed client base.

And this is not the only money making scheme they have up their sleeve. I have it from a very reliable source that apparently the City fat cats are currently behind closed doors developing a plan to generate a whole lot more cash.

Now everyone knows that people in the countryside are flocking to the city. This is called urbanisation. Believe me, over the next few years Randburg is going to get very crowded indeed.

These newcomers are going to need a place to stay, other than informal settlements (notice this time I am being politically correct).

Well, the municipality has a solution. It is their policy of densification. What this means in layman’s terms is that they are going to dramatically relax the rules on subdivisions and usage rights.

The days of having a property of 1 000m² may become a quaint reminder of the past. And business rights in suburban areas will be a whole lot easier to obtain.

Just imagine, when your neighbour sells their property and merrily heads for the coast, you could wake up one morning to find five double-story townhouses have replaced it.

I hear you saying ‘but what about the infrastructure to support such dramatic overdevelopment’.

The municipality is going to tell you that the present infrastructure was designed to accommodate future growth. This, of course, is not true for the kind of growth they are banking on.

So when the municipality judges that your home is worth far more than you think it is, get angry and object. Don’t simply accept their word as gospel. Believe me, the truth is out there.

Kutlwano Olifant, on behalf of the City of Joburg, writes in response to the article, The Municipal Conspiracy (week ending 30 March):

It is the responsibility of the City of Johannesburg to generate revenue on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that residents and customers of the City have a working and financially stable city to live and work in.

The City’s priorities addresses all aspects of the community and the City’s aim is to ensure that each of those priorities are met. In the light of these priorities, it is clear that the City is caring and has the best interest at heart for all its customers and residents.

With regard to the valuations and rates-increase allegations made in the article, it has to be noted that the municipal property rates is a legislative requirement of every municipality, like the City of Johannesburg, to adopt a rates policies annually.

This includes governing the property rating process and defines the different categories of properties, as well as specific categories of property ownership that may qualify for rates rebates and exemptions.

For this legislative requirement to be fulfilled, properties need to be levied. The levying of the property rates process starts with the valuation process.

Property valuation data is compiled in a general valuation roll document, which consists of property information of all rateable properties, inclusive of the market value and property category.

Different categories of properties are allocated and it is important to understand these property categories based on which property value among other aspects is established. A general valuation roll is determined and produced every four years, as stipulated within the Municipal Property Rates Act No 6 of 2004.

The current valuation roll was implemented with effect from 1 July 2013, as result of the extension of one year granted by the MEC for Local Government, the City will implement its next general valuation roll on 1 July 2018.

The current valuation roll was compiled with a valuation date of 2 July 2012. The valuation date for the next valuation roll (GV2018) is 1 July 2018.

There is a time difference of five years between the two valuation dates, which results in different markets being used to determine the values.

Some of the reasons for increases/fluctuations in valuations include market increases, a property being improved, upgrades in data collection processes relating to updated information on properties, the property having been undervalued in the current valuation roll or the property can be overvalued in the GV2018.

The City wishes to emphasize that property owners who feel that the value of their property is incorrect, are advised to make use of the opportunity to lodge objections in order to protect their interests. This needs to happen by or before the 6th of April 2018.

As with any other organisation, the size and complexity of the City, it is run with a vision, mission and set business plans in place. There is no money making scheme as the writer of this letter indicated.

Furthermore, with regard to the insinuation that the writer is making about ‘land invasion’, the City is governed by laws and will, under no circumstances, step outside these boundaries.

The City’s credit control policy that is set to collect money from non-paying customers, its building by-laws and so forth are clear indications that the City operates within the laws of this country and therefore rejects the writer’s uncalled-for comments on conspiracies.