Durban - The steep rates increase imposed on vacant land by the eThekwini Municipality could be reviewed in the next financial year after ratepayers complained that the increase was a financial burden.
The municipality revealed that this charge would be reviewed in the next budget but said the outcome of the review may depend on the municipality’s overall financial performance.
This comes as some Durban residents contemplate legal action against the municipality.
One resident, Cynthia Sent, said she had met with her lawyers to instruct them to send a letter to the city over the rates charged on her vacant land that she found excessive.
She said she had engaged the municipality to try to resolve the issue without any success which was forcing her to go the legal route.
Earlier this year, owners of undeveloped land received a shock increase in property rates that has seen their payments more than double. The increases are based on the valuation roll that came into effect at the start of the new financial year on July 1.
DA councillor Warren Burne said at the time that the rates on vacant land had generally always been high, and were punitive in a bid to discourage people from holding undeveloped land for years as that created a rates “hole” for the municipality.
Burne said there had been a lot of grumblings over the issue and three weeks ago, he and other colleagues from the DA had met with city officials, including the deputy city manager for finance, Sandile Mnguni, over the issue.
Burne said the takeaway from that meeting was that the city needed money and this had resulted in the increase.
“The city said it is already working on the budget for the next financial year and this might be reviewed then, but there is no action to soften the blow in this financial year and the affected residents will just have to ride this out,” he said.
Approached for comment, Mnguni said every year the rates were reviewed and in the next financial year, the rates for vacant land would be reviewed based on the financial performance of the municipality and the country’s economy.
He referred The Mercury to the municipality’s communication office for further comment.
Sent said the new rates on her vacant land were a financial burden.
“I wrote to the municipality and sent them a registered letter, to date I have never heard back, I have also engaged my ward councillor and she has also not been able to help me,” said Sent.
“I have met with my lawyers and they will be writing a detailed letter to the municipality explaining our position and if there is no ( positive resolution) of the matter, we will be going to court,” she said.
Sent said she viewed the changes as a penalty for not developing her land.
“My rates were R490 per month and with this (increase) they are now more than R1 000 – this is a huge financial cost.” She said there were a number of factors that made it difficult to develop the land, including that it was steep and that it could not be accessed via a road.
She said the land was also bordered by informal settlements which would be another consideration for anyone building there and, furthermore, the untarred road to access the property had been sealed off by the settlements.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city was not aware of any correspondence from Sent.