Your Rates Could Skyrocket For Unauthorised Land Use
| Municipalities all have the right to regulate land use in their areas. They can sanction property owners who use their properties unlawfully or without authorisation. Municipalities can impose rates and charges on a penalty tariff. These penalties can be heavy. In the past, the municipality had to change the valuation roll before it could impose penalties. It had to change the category to “illegal or unauthorised” use. The Supreme Court of Appeal has now held that municipalities do not have to update the valuation roll before imposing penalties. All the municipality has to do is prove that it acted under a lawful rates policy. The house whose rates quadrupled A house with a municipal value of R1.65 million had its monthly rates bill quadruple from R890.04 to R3 652.01. The municipality notified the owners of their “wrongful and unlawful use of the property as a student commune.” This was in contravention of the zoning regulations without the necessary authorisation. The municipality said authorisation was necessary because the commune was “a commercial concern”. Do you think your neighbour is about to open an unauthorised office next door? If you like them, you should let them know about this change. |
