It appears that KL City Hall (DBKL) may not have visited the properties when they gave their new valuations for computing the assessment rates for 2014.

I live in OUG and compared the notices received by my neighbours. What surprised me was that the valuation of many houses without any renovations are the same as for other houses that have extensive extensions and renovations.

It is common perception that many renovations could be without any approvals and thus the records of DBKL and other local authorities may be inaccurate. Some corner houses are renovated to the extent that they are semi-detached bungalows, while there are cases in Bangsar where single storey houses are no more single storey, but double storey, and double storey now two and half storeys. This is common in many housing estates throughout the country.

Hence DBKL's method of valuation appears to be not only wrong but also unfair.

Furthermore, houses that are owner-occupied and provide no income to the owner-occupants and those that are rented out at market rates depending on the condition, such as with or without renovations, have all been given the same valuation.

This is apparently not in line with the policy of home ownership for which the federal government is reported to have budgeted RM29 billion to construct affordable houses. One method to cater for this would be to impose a lower rate for owner-occupied houses. I understand that Singapore and many other countries generally impose lower rates for owner-occupied residential houses.

There are millions of property owners in KL and almost all may be effected. How can DBKL have the time and resources to read the objections they have received or hear the objections when they call the residents for briefings?