Rates relief in sight for Durban property owners

Thousands of KZN homeowners who say they have been paying too much in municipal rates will soon be able to take their cases to a valuations appeals board.

The MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube, said on Thursday that 11 boards had been established in KwaZulu-Natal to review disputes over property valuations. A property's value determines how much its owner must pay in rates.

The valuations system was introduced in 2008, and landowners who felt that the government had valued their properties too highly have been forced to pay what they consider to be too much in rates since then.

Dube said each board was made up of qualified valuers, property experts and legal professionals.

She acknowledged the delay in establishing the boards, saying it had been caused by several factors, including difficulties in appointing members.

However, she said the newly elected board members were aware of the pressures under which they would be working, and were committed to addressing the rates objections at speedily as possible.

The municipalities that now have appeals boards are: Ugu, Sisonke, Uthukela, Umzinyathi, Amajuba, Ilembe, Uthungulu, Umgungundlovu, Zululand, Umkhanyakude and eThekwini.

The Mercury

Posted at 09:53AM Feb 05, 2010 by Editor in Residential  |