The draft general valuation roll is compiled by professional property valuers appointed by the municipality on a contract basis.
POLOKWANE – Residents, in particular property owners, are urged to inspect the Polokwane Municipality’s 2024 to 2029 draft general valuation roll that will be available for scrutiny until April 30.
A value on a local authority’s valuation roll forms the basis from which municipal assessment rates are calculated in conjunction with the tariff (cents in the rand) and in Polokwane, the general valuation roll is compiled every five years and may be adjusted by a supplementary valuation roll when changes to the property that includes change of land use, subdivisions and consolidations take place. It therefore has a material effect on the amount that the land owner will pay to the municipality.
The draft general valuation roll is compiled by professional property valuers appointed by the municipality on a contract basis.
According to local professional valuer Francois Goosen, a municipal valuation supposedly reflects the current open market value of a property and which is established through the analysis of comparable sales transactions of similar properties in the area, as well as the condition of improvements and special features.
It is however a mass appraisal method and it is accepted that mistakes can creep in.
Local professional valuer Francois Goosen.
The municipal valuation may not be accepted in a court of law as the true commercial value of the property because the individual properties are not necessarily visited and factors such as location, developmental potential, proximity to amenities and schools, condition of improvements and current land use, among others, are not always taken into consideration.
“The municipal valuation is therefore a mathematical method to determine a base value and the real amount payable by a land owner is actually determined by adjusting the cents in the rand factor during the compilation of the annual budget,” Goosen explains.
After compilation of the new roll, a supplementary roll was also compiled and will be open for inspection and objections from April 22 until June 28.
The valuation rolls may be inspected in the rates hall in the civic centre in Landdros Maré Street and on the municipal website www.polokwane.gov.za under the City Customers icon.
Any person can lodge an objection to the valuation of a specific property or any information omitted therefrom and the prescribed objection forms are available on-line and at the civic centre as well as at the municipality’s satellite offices at Seshego, Mankweng, Sebayeng and Aganang.
“Important to bear in mind is that when one objects to the value of a certain property, by for instance making calculations of by how much the value has increased compared to the previous role’s value will not suffice as no evidence to the contrary was delivered. In the relevant objection form one is obliged to state comparable sales transactions that took place around June/July 2023 otherwise the objection could be discarded by the valuer. Objectors are advised to approach reputable estate agents and/or professional valuers to assist in difficult objections,” Goosen added.
Completed forms should be returned to the Municipal Manager, PO Box 111, Polokwane, 0700 or submitted at any of the above offices. The closing date is April 30 at 16:00.
Enquiries may be directed to Thandi Maila (015 290 2341), Pauline Nephawe (015 023 5093) or Mahlodi Moremi (015 290 2025) during office hours as well as at valuation@polokwane.gov.za.
**This article was originally published on The Citizen
