This By-law was repealed on 2016-07-01 by Property Rates.
Hessequa
South Africa
South Africa
Property Rates By-law, 2015
- Published in Western Cape Provincial Gazette 7406 on 19 June 2015
- Commenced on 1 July 2015
- [This is the version of this document from 19 June 2015 and includes any amendments published up to 9 June 2023.]
- [Repealed by Property Rates on 1 July 2016]
Preamble
WHEREAS section 3 of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004 (Act No 6 of 2004) requires that a Municipality must adopt a By-law in accordance with the provisions of the Act;NOW THEREFORE the following By-law on the levying of property rates is adopted:1. Definitions
In this By-law, definitions, words and expressions have the same meanings as assigned to them in the Act, and unless the context indicates otherwise: –“accommodation” means accommodation in, a room, dwelling/house let to transient guests;“Act” – means the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004 (Act No 6 of 2004) and any amendment thereof;“agent”, in relation to the owner of a property, means a person appointed by the owner of the property –(a)to receive rental or other payments in respect of the property on behalf of the owner; or(b)to make payments in respect of the property on behalf of the owner;“annually” – meansonce every financial year;“bona fide farmer” – means a genuine or real full time farmer who owns land that is used bona fide, predominantly and exclusively by him or his occupiers for agricultural purposes and whose dominant income is generated by the production of crops, fruits, vegetables, ornamental and flowering plants, dairy life, stock, poultry and all other forms of agricultural products on the specific property in question defined under the category “farm property or small holding used for agricultural purpose (bona fide farming)”;“business and commercial property” – means -(a)property used for the activity of buying, selling or trading in commodities or services and includes any office or other accommodation on the same property, the use of which is incidental to such activity; or(b)property on which the administration of the business of private or public entities take place;“Calendar year” shall mean 12 consecutive months of a financial year(s);“category” –(a)in relation to a property, means a category of properties determined in terms of section 8(2) of the Act;(b)in relation to the owners of property, means a category of owners determined in terms of section 15(2) of the Act;“conservation area” –(a)a protected area as listed in section 10 of the Protected Areas Act, 2003;(b)a nature reserve established in accordance with the Nature and Environment Conservation Ordinance, no 19 of 1974; or(c)any land area zoned as open area zone III in accordance with the Municipality’s zoning scheme regulations;provided that such protected areas, nature reserves or land areas, with the exception of tourism facilities that may be erected thereupon, be used exclusively for the conservation of the fauna and flora and the products of those land areas may not be traded for commercial gain;“dwelling” - means a building, structure or place of shelter to live in or conduct business from.“exclusion” – in relation to a Municipality’s rating power, means a restriction of that power as provided for in sections 16 and 17 of the Act;“exemption” - in respect of the calculation of a rate means an exemption granted in terms of section 15(1)(a) of the Act;“farm property or small holding used for agricultural purpose (bona fide farmer)” – means property, including the various structures thereon, that complies with the following criteria:-(a)is used primarily for the cultivation of soils for purposes of planting and harvesting of crops; forestry in the context of the planting or growing of trees in a managed and structured fashion; the reproduction of livestock and game or the breeding and harvesting of fish, but excludes the use of a property for the purpose of eco-tourism; and in the respect of property on which game is reared, trade or hunted, it excludes any portion that is used for commercial or business purposes;(b)excludes the use of the property as a residential life style farm as defined per the definition of a residential lifestyle farm;(c)farming activities includes only those activities carried on by a farmer on his own land from which he derives sustainable income. Farming operations does not include activities merely as an interest or an enjoyable way of life but there should be a genuine intention to derive profit;(d)in this definition such properties could also be included within the urban edge of a town;“farm property or small holding not used for any purpose” – means agricultural property or an agricultural zoned land which is not used for farming purposes, regardless of whether such portion of such property has a dwelling on it which is used as a dwelling and must be regarded as residential property;“financial year” – the period starting from 1 July in a year to 30 June the following year;“industrial property” – means property used for construction, repair, trade or manufacturing, production, assembly or processing of finished or partially finished products from raw materials or fabricated parts on such a large scale that capital and labour are significantly involved, and includes any office or other accommodation on the same property, the use of which is incidental to such activity;“local community” – in relation to the Municipality –(a)means that body of persons comprising –(i)the residents of the Municipality;(ii)the rate payers of the Municipality;(iii)any civic organisations and non-governmental, private sector or labour organisations or bodies which are involved in local affairs within the Municipality; and(iv)visitors and other people residing outside the Municipality, who, because of their presence in the Municipality, make use of services or facilities provided by the Municipality; and(b)includes, more specifically, the poor and other deprived sections of such body of persons;“local Municipality” – a Municipality that shares municipal executive and legislative authority in its area with a district Municipality within whose area it falls and which is described in section 155(1) of the Constitution as a category B Municipality;“market value” – in relation to a property, means the value of the property determined in accordance with section 46 of the Act;“multiple purposes” – in relation to a property, means the use of a property for more than one purpose as intended in section 9 of the Act;“municipal council” or “council” – is a municipal council referred to in section 18 of the Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No 117 of 1998);“municipal manager” – means a person appointed in terms of section 82 of the Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act No 117 of 1998);“municipal property” – is property registered or established in the name of the Hessequa Municipality;“Municipality” –(a)as a corporate entity means a Municipality as described in section 2 of the Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act No 32 of 2000); and(b)as a geographical area, means a municipal area demarcated in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, 1998 (Act No 27 of 1998);“new business incentive rebate” means a rebate granted, on an inclining scale, on a property used for a new business brought to the area;“non-residential property” - means all properties (including all undeveloped properties) other than those identified as residential.“occupier” – in respect of a property means a person in actual occupation of a property, whether or not that person has a right to occupy the property;“open space” - means land that is used as a park, garden, for passive leisure or maintained in its natural state and that is zoned as open space;“owner”-(a)in relation to a property referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of “property”, means a person in whose name ownership of the property is registered;(b)in relation to a right referred to paragraph (b) of the definition of “property” means a person in whose name the right is registered;(c)in relation to a land tenure right referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of “property” means a person in whose name the right is registered or to whom it was granted in terms of legislation; or(d)in relation to public service infrastructure referred to in paragraph (d) of the definition of “property”, means the organ of state which owns or controls that public service infrastructure, as envisaged in the definition in the Act of the term “publicly controlled”provided that a person mentioned below may for the purposes of this Act be regarded by a Municipality as the owner of a property in the following cases:-(i)a trustee, in the case of a property in a trust, excluding state trust land;(ii)an executor or administrator, in the case of a property in a deceased estate (the applicant must produce a letter from the Master of the Court or appropriate legal proof to substantiate the appointment);(iii)a trustee or liquidator, in the case of a property in an insolvent estate or in liquidation;(iv)a judicial manager, in the case of a property in the estate of a person under judicial management;(v)a curator, in the case of a property in the estate of a person under curatorship;(vi)a person in whose name a usufruct or other personal servitude is registered, in the case of a property that is subject to a usufruct or other personal servitude (the applicant must produce a letter from the Master of the Court or appropriate legal proof to substantiate the appointment);(vii)a lessee, in the case of a property that is registered in the name of a Municipality and is leased by it;(viii)a buyer, in the case of a property that was sold by a municipality and of which possession was given to the buyer pending registration of ownership in the name of the buyer;“permitted use” – in respect of a property means the limited purposes for which a property may be used in terms of the following –(a)any restrictions imposed by –(i)a condition of title; or(ii)a provision of a town planning or land use scheme; or(iii)any legislation applicable to any specific property or properties; or(b)any alleviation of any such restrictions;“private open space” means land that is privately owned and used for practising of sport, play- or leisure facilities without financial gain or used as a botanical garden, cemetery or nature area and which is joined as Private Open Space;“property” – means(a)immovable property registered in the name of a person, including, in the case of a sectional title scheme, a sectional title unit registered in the name of a person;(b)a right registered against immovable property in the name of a person, excluding a mortgage bond registered against the property;(c)a land tenure right registered in the name of a person or granted to a person in terms of legislation; or(d)public services infrastructure;“property register” – a register of properties referred to in section 23 of the Act;"public service purposes” - in relation to the use of a property, means property owned and used by an organ of state for the rendering of the following services directly to the public:-(a)Hospitals and public clinics;(b)Schools, including pre-schools, early childhood development centres and further education and training colleges;(c)Libraries;(d)police station;(e)prisons; or(f)courts of law;but excludes property contemplated in the definition of Public service infrastructure.“rate” – a municipal rate on a property envisaged in section 229(1)(a) of the Constitution;“rateable property” – means property on which a Municipality may in terms of section 2 of the Act levy a rate, excluding property fully excluded from the levying of rates in terms of section 17 of the Act;“rebate” – in relation to a rate payable on a property, means a discount granted in terms of section 15 of the Act on the amount of the rate payable on the property;“reduction” - in respect of a rate payable on a property, means the lowering of the amount for which the property was valued and the rating of that property at that lower amount;“residential property” – means improved property that:-(a)is included in the valuation roll in terms of section 48(2)(b) as residential in respect of which the primary use or permitted use is for residential purposes, including any adjoining property registered in the name of the same owner and used together with such residential property as if it were one property. Any such grouping shall be regarded as one residential property for rate rebate or valuation reduction purposes, if still used dominantly for residential purposes; or(b)is a unit registered in terms of the Sectional Title Act and is used predominantly for residential purposes; or(c)is owned by a share-block company and is used predominantly for residential purposes; or(d)is an old age home used predominantly for residential purposes; or(e)is a hostel used predominantly for residential purposes; or(f)is a residence used for residential purposes situated on a property used for or related educational purposes; or(g)is property which is included as residential in a valuation list in terms of section 48 (2)(b) of the Act; or(h)are retirement schemes and life right schemes used predominantly (60% or more) for residential purposes;Vacant properties (empty stands), hotels and accommodation establishments, irrespective of their zoning or intended use, have been specifically excluded from this property category;Owners or tenants of farms and small holdings with a residential component and with no or limited agricultural activities will be rated at the residential rate and receive the valuation reduction for residential properties;If 40% or more of the extent of farms or small holdings is being used for commercial, business or industrial purposes (such as truck depots, construction yards or factories), these properties do not qualify for the residential rate, any rebates or valuation reductions;If less than 40% of the extent of farms or small holdings is being used for commercial, business or industrial purposes and where the municipal valuer considers it reasonable to apply the category for multiple-use properties, the apportionment of value for each distinct use of the property will be calculated by the municipal valuer and used for billing the applicable rate;“residential lifestyle farm” – means non-urban domestic properties, previously defined for rates purpose as agricultural, predominantly used by the occupier(s), thereof for residential purposes and where the remaining Agricultural land on which the dwelling is situated, is not used for any bona fide farming activities as defined in the definition of bona fide farmer/farming activities. Such properties also does not require the existence of a dwelling or any improvements thereon;“small holding” - means(a)all agricultural zoned land units situated within an urban region with an area of one to three hectares; or(b)any agricultural zoned land unit situated outside an urban region with an area of three hectares or less;“state owned property” – means property owned by the State, which are not included in the definition of public service infrastructure in the Act. These properties are classified as follows:-(a)State properties that provide local services;(b)State properties that provide regional/municipal district-wide/metro-wide services; or(c)State properties that provide a provincial/national service; and excludes any property included in the valuation roll under the category ‘residential property’ or ‘vacant land’;“vacant property” – means any land without any improvements thereon. Vacant land can be classified as follows:-(a)Residential vacant, means a property included in a valuation roll in terms of section 48(2) of the Act (read with section 8) as vacant.(b)Business or commercial vacant means a property included in a valuation roll in terms of section 48(2) of the Act (read with section 8) as business or commercial vacant.(c)Industrial vacant, means a property included in a valuation roll in terms of section 48(2) of the Act (read with section 8) as industrial vacant.2. Objectives of the By-law
3. By-law principles
4. Categorisation of services
5. Categories of properties
6. Categories of owners
7. Differential rating
8. Exemptions
9. Rebates
10. Reductions
11. Cost of exemptions, rebates and reductions
12. Multiple use of properties
13. Property register
14. Notification of rates
15. Consultation process
16. Furnishing of accounts
17. Payment of rates
18. Adjustment of rates prior to supplementary valuation
19. Frequency of valuations
20. Review processes
The Property Rates By-law must be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that it complies with the strategic objectives of the Municipality, as stipulated in the Integrated Development Plan and other applicable legislation.21. Repeal of by-laws
The Property Rates By-law published by the Hessequa Municipality under PN. 7278/2014 dated 13 June 2014 is hereby repealed.22. Short title and commencement
This By-law is the Property Rates By-Law of the Hessequa Municipality and comes into effect on 1 July 2015.Cited documents 4
Legislation 4
1. | Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 | 4368 citations |
2. | Income Tax Act, 1962 | 1599 citations |
3. | Disaster Management Act, 2002 | 1216 citations |
4. | Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 | 585 citations |