Durban - Close to 8 000 ratepayers in Durban have filed objections to the valuation of their properties by eThekwini Municipality.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said: “We are in the process of capturing the objections and to date we have counted 7 786.”
The number has more than doubled from the 2 769 objections that had been received as at April 14.
The new valuation roll has sparked outrage in some communities, who said the valuations had pushed up the valuation of their homes to astronomical levels, forcing them to pay much higher rates.
Many claimed the valuations did not take into account critical factors, including that their houses had no improvements to justify the increase, but had attracted higher rates because other houses in the area had been sold at certain prices.
Mayisela said to date no objections had been processed and finalised as they would only be processed after July 1, 2022, when the system goes live for the new general valuations and associated billing.
He said those who had lodged objections were still expected to pay the charged rates come July.
He said this was in terms of section 50 (6) of the Municipal Property Rates Act, which says: “The lodging of an objection does not defer liability for payment of rates beyond the date determined for payment.”
Tabling the city’s budget for the 2022/23 financial year, which was passed last week, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said there would be no increase for residential property rates.
“Instead, the city is happy to announce that the rates randage on residential has been decreased by 10% due to the implementation of the new valuation roll.”
Some ratepayer organisations as well as political parties said beyond the increase in rates, residents were growing increasingly frustrated with having to pay more while the services they were given remained poor.
Asad Gaffar of the Westville Ratepayers’
Association, said the community in his area was more concerned about the quality of service delivery.
“What we are not happy about is that we continue to pay our rates diligently but we are not getting services and this may lead to a rates boycott,” he said.
DA councillor Nicole Graham said there was frustration over the poor service delivery in the city.
“People are frustrated over having to pay for services that are not consistently delivered. What we are seeing is that the city’s rate base is not growing, you are charging the same people effectively more and more for services and there is definitely a tangible frustration from communities who are saying we pay more than other people and we are not getting what we should be.”
ActionSA councillor Busi Radebe said residents were not happy with the valuation roll and there had been talk among ratepayers of a rates boycott and putting the money into a ratepayers’ kitty.
“But those are illegal actions and as ActionSA is a law-abiding organisation, it is something we do not encourage.”
Radebe said many residents were concerned that the valuations were not taking into account the state of the neighbourhoods they lived in.
She said for instance, in the Morningside area of Durban, there were many abandoned buildings that had been invaded or remained vacant, and while that normally devalues an area and the properties in it, the valuations in the suburb had remained high.
“I am aware of one woman living in the area who was paying R3 000 in rates yet she was surrounded by vacant buildings. She struggled to sell her property and eventually sold it for under its value.
“In some cases, you find that there is a suburb and across the road is an informal settlement; the city valuations does not take that into account,” said Radebe.
She said there were also basic failures in service delivery that added to the frustration. “The issue of the black bags (for refuse collection); we pay for these bags and they are not delivered. I live in the Westville area and these bags are not delivered in my area – we have to call so these bags can be delivered, which is frustrating because we pay for this service.”