Newsletter

The importance of informing owners of new valuations was confirmed in two recent cases.

A decision of a valuation appeal board is functus officio, meaning that a decision taken by a board is valid until it is reviewed by a higher authority.

We have compiled a convenient table of 2024/2025 tariff increases for property rates, electricity, water, sanitation, and refuse.

Rates Watch has lodged a significant number of appeals in many municipalities across South Africa. Our latest update looks at those appeals that are still outstanding in each major metro.

Rates Watch has lodged a significant number of appeals in many municipalities across South Africa. Our latest update looks at those appeals that are still outstanding in each major metro.

If any physical or legal changes are made to a property, the municipal valuer must perform a supplementary valuation as instructed by Section 78 of the Municipal Property Rates Act (MPRA). Values can also be amended if the property is over- or undervalued. Recently, we have encountered a number of such cases where values are being amended repeatedly and, we believe, frivolously.

More than 15 years ago, Clive Massel anticipated the difficulties that private municipal valuers would have in tendering for municipal valuation rolls. He came up with the idea of creating a valuation business model that would not be subjected to a tendering process where the tender is often not awarded to the best candidate.