01/10/2026
Your municipal valuation could be 4 years old. Your rates bill isn't.
This week I asked homeowners a simple question about their municipal valuations. Within two hours, the stories started coming in.
One bought a house out of a deceased estate, at market value, and was valued R2,5 million higher by the municipality. He objected with the signed sale agreement attached. Rejected, no reason given.
Another bought a plot for R2,5 million. Before transfer was even registered, the new roll valued it at R6 million. Appeal dismissed. He now has an attorney on it.
A third was overvalued by R4 million on a block of flats, and is only now being paid back monthly.
After 25 years in property, the pattern is familiar. Homeowners make three mistakes:
1. They assume the municipal valuation is what the house is worth. It isn't, and it cuts both ways.
2. They assume they can object any time. You can't. Miss the inspection window and you're locked in until the next roll.
3. They assume a high valuation is good news. Not on the rates account.
What strikes me most is not the numbers. It's that every one of these owners did the right thing, with real evidence, and still carried the cost. The burden of proof sits with the homeowner, and very few have the information at hand when it matters.
Your home is likely your biggest asset. Knowing what the municipality says it's worth is not admin. It's asset management.
Have you ever objected to your municipal valuation, and was it worth the effort?
