By Donwald Pressly

The City of Cape Town's valuations department said on Tuesday all sectional title owners would receive letters informing them of revised valuations on their properties.

These would begin arriving later this week, said valuations director Chris Gavor in a statement.

The distribution of these letters would be done through managing agents and bodies corporate.

This was because the city's administration initially experienced some delays in securing the correct individual addresses of sectional title owners.

"It is essential that sectional title owners receive their revised valuations in order to afford them the opportunity to agree or disagree with the values and then lodge objections. Sectional title property owners will also be able to check the revised values electronically on www.capetown.gov.za from March 30," said Gavor.

There would be two groups of letters.

The first would be for those sectional unit owners whose property values had not changed and the second for those whose values had. The letters would also list the various venues where objections could be lodged for sectional title properties. The deadline for objections remained April 30.

This would be the first time that some 120,000 sectional title property owners would become liable for direct payment of municipal rates, since changes in legislation now required it.

Gavor said from July 2007 onwards, all billing for sectional title properties would be done on a monthly basis like any other residential property. However, if sectional title owners preferred an annual bill, they should make such requests in writing and these would be granted.

In addition, he said all sectional title owners would receive a questionnaire with their valuation letters, asking them to indicate to which postal address they wanted the city to send their rates bills.

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