Joburg admitted to errors in property valuation - Makhura

Gauteng Premier David Makhura says the city of Johannesburg has admitted to making an error in its valuation roll in a meeting where he had to deal with complaints from the general public about the issue.

Briefing reporters in the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday‚ Makhura said he met with Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba on March 9 to discuss concerns that have been raised by property owners over Johannesburg's new general valuation roll.

“I took the step to get the city to explain what has happened. We always have property valuations … It is not the first time. Yes‚ people do complain but this time around there was a huge complaint. Some of the people raised the issue with me. This includes some of the businessmen about their residential properties but also business properties. They complained that what was seen is nothing that they have seen before. So‚ there is something fundamentally wrong.

“Indeed‚ the city admitted to me that there was an error. The city introduced a new valuation model. They appointed service providers ... in the course of the introduction of that new valuation model‚ there was a huge over-valuing of properties.

"By that time‚ the city had isolated 8 000 properties in certain parts of the city‚ largely in the eastern part. They have ordered that those properties must be revalued.

“They [city] acknowledge that yes there was a mistake but you know that 8 000 is only [about] 1% of the 879 000 properties on the Johannesburg valuation roll. We agreed with the mayor that whereas they have isolated 8 000‚ they will also deal with all the rest [of complaints]. If any member of the public‚ ratepayer‚ property owner‚ is still aggrieved‚ they need to follow the right procedure‚” Makhura said.

The new valuation roll‚ published last month‚ caused havoc in Johannesburg as property owners complained that their immovable assets had been over-valued way above market prices.

Some of the property owners who spoke to TimesLIVE brought evidence of how the new general valuation roll raised their property as high as 1000% in value.

The city has opened up about valuation problems and asked property owners to follow due process and make objections. Objections can be done online and also in person.