Johannesburg homeowners should beware of rates and taxes

According to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), ratepayers in the City of Johannesburg should ensure that their property assessments are appropriate in order to avoid overpaying on property rates.

According to the Community Action Network (CAN) of the organisation, the City of Johannesburg has calculated a new valuation for 934,652 homes in the metro region.

Property owners will be paid rates based on revised values beginning in July 2023.

According to Time Tyrell, a project manager at CAN, if you own property in the region, whether residential or commercial, you will be affected by the new general value roll.

“You have till 31 March to review the newly proposed valuation and object to it should it be unreasonable. If the City over-values your property, it will overcharge you on rates,” said Tyrrell.

According to him, the city decides the value of your property based on a market-related “willing seller to willing buyer” value as of July 1, 2022.

Based on the values, the charges are levied at a rate-in-the-rand.

“We have already determined that some properties in the City have been overvalued, and community members have already objected to some increases of over 70%. One property owner indicated how, with the new increase, his property rates would go up by R1,000 per month. If you don’t object, you accept,” said Tyrrell.

The city has said that property owners have 45 days to object beginning with the publication of the general valuation roll for 2023 on 15 February 2023 and ending on 31 March 2023.

“There should be no discrepancy between your municipal property valuation and your property’s actual value. Failure to object to discrepancies between these two values not only affects your rates and taxes but can also affect future sales values.”

“It is up to you, the homeowner, to identify and object to any discrepancies, not the municipality, so be sure to ascertain both values and ensure that no issues are present,” said Hayley Ivins-Downes, the head of digital for property research group Lightstone.

Outa provided the following steps to look into your valuation:

• Compare the new value with the current value on your latest City of Joburg invoice.
• If the new value has significantly increased, you can object to it to potentially get a reduced deal.
• You don’t need to do anything if you think the new value is fair. If you would like to object, continue with the process.
• Determine the value of your property and compare.
• Lodge a complaint with the City of Joburg here.