The following article was submitted by Hamza Ali Baksh.

The City of Johannesburg has released its General Valuation Roll for 2018 which is now open for inspection until 6 April 2018. It is your responsibility as the property owner to check the valuation that has been attached to your property (which you can do by clicking here - https://coj2018.evaluations.co.za/eservices/Index.aspx), since this determines the rates that you will pay monthly. Should you feel that the value attached to your property is incorrect, not in line with market value, or incorrectly categorised, you have the right to dispute the valuation by submitting an objection which must explain the reasons for your dispute. You must follow the prescribed process for an objection or it will not be considered. Click here for the process (https://coj2018.evaluations.co.za/eservices/Public/how-to-object.aspx), but also see the image at the end of this article for more information on how to object.

 
The BRA strongly encourages all property owners to inspect their new property valuation without delay. BRA also encourages you to dispute the valuation where applicable because we have seen information (see the spread of increases below) that suggests that the valuations have been artificially inflated to meet the CoJ budget requirements rather than to fairly and equitably evaluate all properties in the city.
Property owners should also take note that that the new valuation will come into effect on 1 July 2018 and you will be required to pay the updated rates regardless of any objection you have submitted. If the objection is successful, your valuation and your rates will drop to the new values, and you will be credited with the amount of rates that was overpaid
 
There are also specialist companies that can assist in objecting on your behalf for a fee, for example Rateswatch (www.rateswatch.co.za)
 
Spread of increase in valuations:
-          10.44% of residential properties increased by between 0% and 20%
-          40.71% of properties increased by between 21% and 40%,
-          30.65% of properties increased by between 41% and 60%,
-          7.99% of properties increased by between 61 and 80%.
-          2.23% of properties increased by between 81% and 100%
-          3.38% of residential properties increased by more than 100%.
 
More information on the process for objections:
Click here for PDF