How a municipal rates objection works

Your municipality charges rates on the market value it records for your property on the valuation roll. It applies a cent-in-the-rand tariff for your property category to that value, after any exemptions, reductions or rebates that apply. If the recorded value or category is wrong, you pay rates on the error until someone corrects it.

The source of the value

Municipalities prepare a general valuation roll at intervals set by the Municipal Property Rates Act, and they update it between general valuations with supplementary rolls. Municipal valuers value large numbers of properties at once, from sales data and the property details on record. They do not inspect each property inside and out. Errors come from wrong extents, missing or outdated records of improvements, the wrong category, and sales of properties that differ from yours.

Check your entry

Look up your property on the municipality's valuation roll, online or at the municipal offices. Check the details against your title deed and approved plans:

• Erf or unit number and extent
• Property category, for example residential, business or agricultural
• Recorded improvements and building size
• Market value and the date of valuation

The value reflects the market at the date of valuation, which falls before the roll takes effect. Compare your property with sales from around that date.

The objection period

A municipality that publishes a new roll places a public notice inviting objections, and the notice states the closing date. Supplementary rolls carry their own notices. Periods, forms and submission channels differ between municipalities, so read the notice for your roll and diarise the closing date. Ask the municipality how it treats late objections before you rely on one.

Building the objection

The objection form asks for your details, the property, the value you believe is correct and your reasons. Your reasons carry the case. A strong objection includes:

• Corrections to the recorded facts, with the title deed, plans or measurements that prove them
• Sales of comparable properties near the date of valuation, adjusted for differences in size, condition and position
• Photographs of defects or conditions that reduce value
• A valuation report from a registered valuer, where the amount at stake justifies one

Object to the specific error. A general complaint about the size of your rates bill gives the valuer nothing to assess. Set out the recorded figure, the figure you propose and the evidence that links them.

After you lodge it

Keep proof of lodgement. The municipal valuer considers the objection, and the municipality sends you the outcome. If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal to the valuation appeal board. The notice of the decision should tell you the period and the process for an appeal; check both with the municipality.

Keep paying your rates account while the objection runs. Lodging an objection does not put your account on hold, and arrears can lead to interest and collection action. If the municipality reduces the value, it adjusts your account from the date the change takes effect. Confirm that date with the municipality, along with how it will credit any overpayment.

Weigh the saving

Work out the rates impact first. Take the difference between the recorded value and the value you can support, and apply your category's tariff to it. Compare that annual difference with the cost of preparing the case. A valuation roll stays in force for several years, so on a commercial building, a portfolio or a multi-unit property, a modest error adds up across the life of the roll.

Quantum reviews valuation roll entries, prepares the objection motivation, supporting schedules and rates impact calculation, and lodges the objection. We coordinate an independent property valuer where the case needs a valuer's opinion, and we follow up the municipality's queries until it issues a decision.