Mashaba responds to property valuations concerns
05 March 2018

I have taken note of the public response to the issuing of the City’s Section 49 notices, which inform ratepayers of their new municipal property valuation. Unfortunately, this has raised a great deal of alarm, which I deem necessary to address.

The current narrative seems to suggest that the City, through the 2018 General Valuation Roll (GV), is forcing residents out of their hard earned money and to address a revenue crunch. Nothing could be further from the truth. This process is run independently from the City, and cannot be influenced by the City.

The implementation of the GV is a legislated process, taking place every 4 years, with prescribed steps which need to be followed. In the case of the City of Johannesburg, a 1 year extension was granted to implement the GV on 1 July 2018.

Johannesburg is a city of choice for many. It is a major economic hub on the continent and offer the many who flock here with the potential for a better life. The knock-on effect is the high demand for property and, in a space of high demand and limited supply, prices are likely to increase over a 5 year period.

In establishing the value of a property, the municipal valuer analyses the recent sales trends for property within a specific area as at the date of valuation, coupled with the relevant market information activity available for that area.

This therefore takes into consideration areas where values have declined, increased or remained stagnant due to the current state of the property market and the economy at large. This information provides the basis for the valuation.