City to review property rates

The City of Johannesburg’s head of the Property Rates Division, Veli Hlophe, has argued that continuous reviews of property rates are necessary to support service delivery.

Hlophe was speaking at the Hillbrow Recreation Centre on Monday, January 23. This was the third installment of a series of consultations on property rates.

Within the next three weeks, a total of 21 such meetings will be held across various residential areas. These will be followed by an extensive public consultative process with residents in February.

“We must understand that rates go up every year. Rates and taxes drive the revenue of the city. This is why it is important that we must talk about property rates.

“Property owners are allowed to object if a property is devalued. Objections and appeals have a time frame, which is two years. No fees are charged. Once the entire process has been finalised, a date will be announced when property owners can come in and view the value of their properties. Sub-offices will also be set up in all our regions,” Hlophe said.

He said when the document is revised it will be used to change property owners’ rates. He said the City would, from Saturday, July 1, embark on a property valuation process and would share as much information as possible with the residents.

Residents can email comments on the current rates policy to ratescomments@joburg.org.za

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