Civic groups challenge Cape Town’s proposed 10.2% property rate reduction

City of Cape Town proposes a 10.2% reduction in property rates, but civic groups warn of potential deception, calling it ‘very fancy footwork’. The City of Cape Town is proposing a 10.2% reduction in the property rates formula following the General Valuation 2025 (GV2025). However, civic groups are raising serious concerns, alleging that the City may be attempting to mislead the public with what they describe as “very fancy footwork.” The City’s rate-in-rand refers to the formula used to calculate property rates, which it claims is the lowest in South Africa across all rate categories.

The City stated that this lower rate-in-rand is one of several measures proposed to minimise property rate increases for most homeowners, despite significant asset value growth for property owners in Cape Town. “Cape Town’s vastly lower rate-in-rand shows that it generally costs less to own a property asset here than it does anywhere else. This asset can also be expected to grow in value over time, increasing the net worth of families and personal wealth of ratepayers across the income and property value spectrum,” Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said.

Other proposed measures in the forthcoming draft Budget 2026/27 include raising the ‘rates-free benefit’ to the first R500,000 of property value (up from R450,000), and extending this benefit to all properties up to R8m (up from R7m). Hill-Lewis said that the proposed 10,2% rate-in-rand decrease and extended rates benefits “will shield the large majority of ratepayers”.