General Valuation 2012

 2012 General Valuation Roll (GV2012) 

Council approved the production of a 2012 General Valuation Roll (GV2012), which means that the GV2012 project is officially under way.

In terms of legislation, a valuation roll remains valid for the financial year in which it is produced, and then for one or more subsequent financial years as the municipality may decide, but in total, not for more than four financial years.

It is best to conduct regular valuations, as long periods between valuations results in significant shifts in values. Due to the fact that there have been shifts in the property market since the GV2009 valuation roll, the City has chosen to have its next General Valuation Roll – GV2012 - after only 3 years.

The date of valuation of the GV2012 is 1 July 2012. All the properties are valued as at the same date of valuation in order to ensure fairness. The City’s valuations are based on actual property transactions (sales) that have taken place in the open market around the date of valuation. The Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, no 6 of 2004, states that all properties on the valuation roll must be valued at market value. Market value is defined as “the amount the property would have realized if sold on the date of valuation in the open market by a willing buyer to a willing seller.”

The valuations staff have been collecting and reviewing sales that took place since July 2009. The sales data is used in the computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) of properties. CAMA is a computer aided analytical procedure used by trained professional valuers to value the large number of properties within Cape Town. This programme makes valuation cheaper and faster, but no less fair.

The municipal valuer is responsible for the production of the 2012 General Valuation Roll, which is a document containing the municipal valuations of all the 800 000 properties within the boundaries of the City of Cape Town. The municipal valuer is assisted by professional valuers, statistical analysts, data collectors and a host of diverse support staff.

Since it is impossible to undertake individual valuations of all 800 000 properties within the legislated timeframes, the City of Cape Town has moved from valuing properties individually to a mass appraisal approach which determines values through models that are informed by data. The City started modelling in 2000 and over the years has improved the models, moving from 6 models in GV2000, to 12 in GV2006, 24 in GV2009 and now to 30 models for GV2012. These improvements in processes have resulted in better value assessments, and improvements in processes have been noted in the audits that have been carried out by the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI).

The valuation roll will be finalised and certified in January 2013, and the roll will be open for inspection and the lodging of objections during March and April 2013.

Notices will be posted to owners in February 2013 to advise them of their GV2012 valuation, and of the procedure to lodge an objection if they disagree with the valuation. Property owners are advised to ensure that the City of Cape Town has their correct postal address as the notices will be posted to the address that is used to send out accounts. Corrections/updates to postal addresses should be sent together with a copy of the property owner’s ID to correspondence.crm@capetown.gov.za oraccounts@capetown.gov.za or faxed to 086 576 1568.
Property Rates are calculated using the municipal valuation assigned to the property. Using the same date of valuation for all properties ensures that rates are levied on a fair and equitable basis.

The GV2012 values will be available on this website as from the end of February 2013.

The values on the GV2012 Valuation Roll will be used as a basis for property rates from 1 July 2013.

Pertinent information

When will the property valuations be made public?
The GV2012 valuation roll will be published at the end of January 2013.

How will I know the valuation of my property?
You will be sent an official notice of your valuation by ordinary mail to the postal address as stored on the billing system. In addition, the valuation roll will be published on the City’s website at http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/propertyvaluations/Pages/default.aspx as from February 2013.

Copies of the valuation roll will also be available at the objection venues.

When can I object?
The GV2012 valuation roll will be open for inspection and the lodging of objections during March and April 2013.

How will I know about the objection period?
The GV2012 official notice sent to you will include details of how to object, and will include information on the objection period, how to obtain an objection form and valid addresses for returning the completed objection form. The objection period and venues will also be published in the local and community newspapers and the information will be available on the City’s website.

Is there anything I need to do to ensure that I am not disadvantaged? 

·         Valuation officials will be inspecting designated properties for the purpose of gathering data. Accurate data facilitates accurate valuations. Please allow these officials access to your property. (Verify that the official is a member of the valuation office by calling 086 010 3089 or visiting our website) 

·         Should you be unavailable at the time of the visit by the valuation official, please contact us to make an appointment for a re-visit 

·         Please ensure that you keep the Revenue Department informed of any changes to your postal address 

·         Look out for your valuation notice in the post during February 2013, or print the notice from our website as from February 2013 

• Lodge an objection in March/April 2013 if you disagree with your GV2012 valuation

http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/propertyvaluations/Pages/GeneralValuation2012.aspx

Remember, for any assistance with your property valuations, we are a phone call away
072 610 1416 or (021) 843 3425 or email on claudine@cjwa.co.za
www.cjwa.co.za