RATES UP AFTER A PROPERTY REVALUATION? OBJECT, BUT DO IT PROPERLY!
“The mere lodging of an objection, however ill-founded, does not trigger an obligation to furnish detailed reasons for the underlying decision relating to the valuation of the property” (extract from judgment below) Your local municipality is entitled to revalue your property (with reference to recent sales of similar properties in your area) at regular intervals. […]
PROPERTY BUYERS: MUST YOU PAY THE PREVIOUS OWNER’S OLD DEBTS?
Imagine this. You buy your dream house. You take transfer. You book a date for your move with Fred’s Furniture Removals. But when you apply for electricity and water accounts so you can actually move in, your local municipality refuses until you settle an old (and substantial) municipal debt which the original owner still owes. […]
PROPERTY BUYERS: DON’T PAY THE SELLER’S OLD RATES WITHOUT LEGAL ADVICE!
You buy your dream house but are shocked to learn that (a) the seller still owes the municipality for old rates and taxes and (b) you can’t get a new electricity account unless and until you settle all these arrears. You point out how unfair it is that you are being asked to pay someone […]
MIXED USE PROPERTIES: WHAT RATES MUST YOU PAY?
Municipalities may levy rates on properties by valuing them and then applying a rate to them based on categories of permitted or actual usage, with “residential” properties traditionally attracting lower rates than “commercial”, “business” and “industrial” properties. What happens though when you own a mixed use property? Property owners will welcome a recent Supreme Court […]