CAN campaign urges citizens to take control of their municipal property valuations

Credit: OUTA

12 December 2024: The Community Action Network (CAN), an initiative of OUTA, has launched a project to assist property owners in understanding and engaging with the General Valuation Roll (GVR) process for 2025. This critical municipal activity  that occurs in every municipality every three to five years, sets property rates that directly influence household and business finances.

Jonathan Erasmus, Project Manager of CAN, said the importance of public engagement in this process was critical to holding municipalities accountable.

“Municipal property valuations form the backbone of local government budgets, but they often leave ratepayers with unanswered questions. These include questions over how valuations were calculated, why properties have been reclassified and importantly how properties could be accruing in value when municipal services are collapsing. Our project is designed to educate and empower communities to actively participate in this process and apply pressure on municipal valuers to be fair and just,” said Erasmus.

CAN’s initiative provides tools and guidance to help property owners verify the accuracy of their valuations, understand their rights, and submit objections when necessary.

“Transparency and fairness are non-negotiable. Without active engagement, ratepayers risk being burdened by rates that do not align with the true value of their properties or the level of service they receive.”

The organisation also warned that failure to engage during the GVR’s limited public objection period could result in ratepayers being locked into higher costs for extended periods of time. To counter this, CAN is offering resources, including online calculators and connections to partner valuation experts and lawyers, to support informed decision-making.

CAN will list all current municipal general valuation rolls and supplementary valuations rolls at its purpose-built webpage  https://can.org.za/projects/gvr2025/.

“This is about fostering responsible citizenry. Together, we can ensure municipalities treat property owners, the lifeblood of vibrant local economies,  fairly and create budgets that are reasonable and affordable for all ratepayers and municipal residents alike,” said Erasmus.