The Full Story Behind DBKL's Increase In Assessment Fees And Its Impact On KL Residents

Kuala Lumpur residents heaved a huge sigh of relief as Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) agreed to reduce its property assessment rates by two percentage points.

Resident association (RA) chairmen have come out once again to declare their frustration with Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, this time complaining that the minister had jumped the gun when he announced the cut in city assessment rates yesterday.

City property owners noted that despite the slight reduction, they would still end up paying more in assessment rates after valuation of some properties were hiked up to 300%.

themalaysianinsider.com

Tengku Adnan added that the revised rates would take effect in the second half of 2014.

Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today appeared to shrug off the uproar over the planned revision of assessment rates in the city next year, saying that “only” around 80,000 written objections have been submitted as of this morning.

themalaymailonline.com

"I discussed with my officers today and out of the 507,000 property owners, only about 80,000 had submitted their objections," says Tengku Adnan.

themalaysianinsider.com

“And most of the complaints are similar. The people who objected think that if their property is worth RM 40,000, it will increase to RM 100,000 and they must pay that amount,” he said.

freemalaysiatoday.com

About 300 Kuala Lumpur property owners and residents demonstrated outside the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) headquarters here today against a controversial increase in city property taxes.

themalaymailonline.com

They thronged the City Hall (DBKL) headquarters along Jalan Raja Laut, one of the busiest roads in Kuala Lumpur. Traffic policemen and City Hall wardens were at the site but traffic was under control.

themalaysianinsider.com

Batu MP Chua Tian Chang said, to date, more than 20,000 objection letters on the planned assessment rate hike have been sent to DBKL, ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.

themalaysianinsider.com

DAP deputy national chairman Tan Kok Wai told online portals yesterday that city folk could gather at the venue, located next to the City Hall building, from 11am onwards to meet their members of parliament, voice their grouses and submit their objection letters.

nst.com.my

While most property owners in Kuala Lumpur have expressed concern over the proposed increase in assessment rates by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), some residents are heaving a sigh of relief.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Several residents associations today disclosed that despite the proposed hike in rates between 100% and 1,000%, some areas in Brickfields and Bangsar have in fact, been undervalued by the DBKL.

freemalaysiatoday.com

“To be honest, the price of apartments if according to proper assessment… the rental prices of the apartments around Bangsar and Brickfields are much higher than the assessment value is,” a Brickfields’ residents association chairman told FMT.

freemalaysiatoday.com

When contacted, a Bangsar Baru Residents Association (BBRA) committee member disclosed that even landed properties had been under-assessed by the DBKL. “In Jalan Ara, the assessment rates of bungalows are so much cheaper than terrace houses,” he lamented.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan (WP) Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor menyifatkan tindakan Pakatan Rakyat yang mengajak rakyat melakukan demonstrasi membantah kenaikan cukai pintu pada 16 Disember depan itu sebagai ‘gila’.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor confirmed today that KL property owners will not be penalised for paying old assessment rates until the quantum of the city’s proposed tax hike is announced by March next year.

The new assessment rates will only be decided after the panel appointed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) completes studying the objections received.

astroawani.com

“Sudah 21 tahun cukai pintu tak berubah dan kita akan naikkan hanya dalam lingkungan 2%…yang buat bising ni kawan-kawan yang tidak ada otak, dia tak tahu,” kata Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Pakatan Rakyat MPs have urged the public to come together and rally on Dec 16 against the unreasonable assessment tax hike by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

malaysiakini.com

Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai hoped KL property owners would attend the rally in the thousands to voice their anger and objection against the proposed rate hike.

freemalaysiatoday.com

“We hope the crowd will be big enough to drive forward a strong message of demand,” he said during a press conference at Parliament lobby today.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has also received 10,000 objection letters since it issued the notice on the assessment rate hike last November. Mayor Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib acknowledged that it was the people's right to voice out and express their views.

fz.com

The revised assessment rates will kick in January 2014, and will not be delayed as reported yesterday, Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor reportedly said.

malaysiakini.com

Tengku Adnan today insisted that the new rates would apply from January 1.

themalaysianinsider.com

"We can defer payment but the rate will automatically increase from January 1. What we will postpone is the implementation because with the objection period ending on December 17, it will take about three months for DBKL to hear all of them," said Tengku Adnan.

themalaysianinsider.com

The controversial assessment tax hikes on property owners in Kuala Lumpur will be postponed to enable dialogues to be held from January to March next year, Deputy Federal Territories Minister Loga Bala Mohan told the Dewan Rakyat today.

malaysiakini.com

The deadline for objections had earlier been set for Dec 17 as the new assessment rates were due to come into effect Jan 1.

fz.com

Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk J. Loga Balan Mohan said this is to enable City Hall to hold public hearings on the appeals submitted by property owners affected by the hike.

themalaysianinsider.com

Opposition lawmakers hope to force Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to delay new assessment rates that have outraged city property owners by submitting boxes of objection letters on December 16, a day before a deadline for revisions.

themalaysianinsider.com

“Residents have been urging us to take some form of action. Many are angry and they want a protest," said Batu MP Tian Chua.

Under the Local Government Act 1976, DBKL must all hear all objections on the proposed rate hikes submitted by property owners.

themalaysianinsider.com

Saying they were not against any revision of the assessment rate as it had not been increased for 21 years, Tian Chua, however, said any hike should be gradual.

"We will hand in the letters in bulk to DBKL," Tian Chua said. "We hope this show of force will demonstrate to City Hall how wrong it is to raise assessment rates arbitrarily without consultations with the people."

themalaysianinsider.com

Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib has confirmed that from January 1, property owners in the city will have to fork out higher property assessment fees. Tengku Adnan is expected to make an announcement on the matter by December 30 or January 1.

themalaysianinsider.com

Ahmad Phesal said that he would discuss with Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor the best way to implement this so that the increment will not burden the city folk.

"The increase is not because there will be an increase in the rate but because of the revaluation of property that we are doing," he said. The mayor also said that City Hall will continue to hear objections from property owners until December 17.

“Yesterday, I had problems even with my wife. When my wife told me about the rate (she owns a few properties)... of one of her penthouses, the value used to be only RM40,000 (annual rental value) and now it has gone up to RM170,000. And she thought she will have to pay RM170,000.

themalaysianinsider.com

“My wife’s penthouse was valued at RM40,000 and the new proposed assessment rate was RM117,000. She initially thought she had to pay RM117,000 but in fact, she only has to pay six per cent of the proposed value.”
“My wife grumbled about the increase. I told her to send City Hall an objection letter.”

He revealed even his wife, who owned properties in Kuala Lumpur, was confused over the proposed rates. He urged the public to continue writing in their objections to City Hall before Dec 17, adding they will review the grouses.

DBKL has sent out notices to property owners of the proposed assessment rate increase and residents expressed their shock over the proposal, which would see them paying 100% to 265% more.

DBKL's "Notice of revision of valuation list" has been posted to homeowners, detailing the proposed annual value on which assessment is payable.
In the popular Mont Kiara area, for example, a serviced apartment of about 1,100 square feet, whose annual valuation last year was RM15,600 (S$6,000), has now been assessed at RM30,000.

businesstimes.com.sg

Consequently, the annual assessment payable will jump to RM3,600 from RM1,872 - a 92 per cent hike given that serviced apartments and other properties with commercial titles attract a 12 per cent tax. The residential rate is half that level, at 6 per cent.

businesstimes.com.sg

The proposal to increase assessment taxes in Kuala Lumpur was based on current real estate prices and not meant to burden the people, Federal Territory Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said today.

malaysiakini.com

He said the new rate was considered fair as the tax has not been revised for 21 years.

tengku adnan tengku mansor in putrajaya campaign ge13"House prices in the city run into the millions but owners are still paying outdated rates. It's not fair," he said.

malaysiakini.com

But DBKL maintained that the hike is justified because valuations have not been revised for 21 years, even as property values and the council's operating costs have gone up significantly.

asiaone.com

Property reassessment and assessment rate hikes will bring great and immediate effects. Take shops for instance, shop lot owners are very likely to increase rental rates following the increase of assessment rates and once the operating costs of the tenants are increased, the economic burden will eventually be passed on to consumers, exacerbating inflation.

The goods prices in Kuala Lumpur have surged much in recent years due to the price hikes of petrol, sugar and other goods. The people have already been under immerse pressure. In particular, low-income earners have been struggling due to inflation. The 200% increase of assessment rates will certainly increase the cost of urban life and it is going to further pressure the people.

Although assessment tax is DBKL’s main source of revenue and it is understandable to adjust the rates after 21 years, the proposed increase rates are unreasonable and have gone beyond the people's affordability. Meanwhile, the services of the DBKL has not been improved, including poor waste disposal management, poor roads and traffic conditions, the lack of maintenance for public facilities, flood problems, crow infestation in residential areas, environmental pollution and unpruned trees threatening pedestrians' safety.

The Kuala Lumpur Anti-incinerator Movement (KTI) has raised a pertinent question - is there a link between the drastic increase in assessment taxes and quit rents in Kuala Lumpur and the construction of the controversial Taman Beringin incinerator?

malaysiakini.com

In a statement today, KTI wanted to know whether the dramatic rise of taxes, which were up to 267 percent, was a way for the government to "steal" taxpayers' money in order to fund the incinerator despite strong protests from residents near Kepong, where the incinerator is set to be built.

malaysiakini.com

Cheras DAP MP Tan Kok Wai said the hike on assessment rates was unreasonable.

“Assessment tax is DBKL’s main source of revenue, with the RM880.5mil expected to be collected this year, which accounts for 54.2% of the RM1.62bil in total estimated revenue this year.

“This shows DBKL has been enjoying a comfortable budget,” he said, adding that the total budget for City Hall this year was RM2.188bil.

Nurul who is also PKR vice president, added that the decision to increase the assessments contradicts government’s plans to allow more people to own homes.
“The government introduced PR1MA to allow people to have affordable homes. This totally contradicts everything.
“It only provides an opportunity to landlords to increase rental. Listen to the people. I urge the government and DBKL to listen,” she said.

freemalaysiatoday.com

Nurul also questioned as to how are city dwellers going to cope with the hike in assessments since the government is imposing a cut in subsidy and would be introducing the goods and services tax. “We will go all out to oppose the hike in assessment rates,” she said.

freemalaysiatoday.com

KL Pakatan Rakyat MPs are up in arms to oppose the rise in assessment rates which were increased between 100% to 300%. They propose to do so via a petition to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

freemalaysiatoday.com

Federal Territory Opposition MPs have asked Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to withdraw its notice to raise the assessment rates for property owners until a full study is made on the matter.

“We want the notice to be withdrawn until a proper study can be done into the issue.

“Why didn’t they tell us earlier about the proposal to increase the assessment rates? This is such a big exercise and yet they didn’t tell us anything at all,” said PKR vice-president Tian Chua, who is Batu PKR MP, during a joint press conference at Parliament lobby yesterday.

As resistance to a controversial increase to property assessment here gains momentum, a Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker today added his voice to the demand so far led by opposition MPs for Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to rescind the notices.

Ahead of a meeting involving Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and the 12 parliamentarians from the city at noon today, Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani he will seek for the notices to be withdrawn and replaced with those bearing more “reasonable” increases, which he put at no more than 3 per cent from the previous sum paid.

themalaymailonline.com

“The 3 per cent rate is appropriate with the country’s inflation rate,” Johari, one of only two BN MPs in the capital, said in a series to Twitter posts today.

“If the increase reaches 100 per cent to 300 per cent, that means the BR1M 3 aid will have no meaning to the KL folks,” he said referring, to the federal cash handouts given to families earning below RM4,000 monthly.

themalaymailonline.com

The Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) proposal to increase assessment rates for property owners has set off an uproar, with many Residents' Associations (Ras) and Chambers of Commerce organising signature campaigns while some areas have even asked the residents to hold banners as an expression of dissatisfaction. If the protest voices receive no responds from the DBKL, the protests might be escalated.

Some 200 residents banded together in rally in Sri Petaling neighbourhood to denounce what they called an “unrealistic” and “inconsistent” valuation on their land, demanding DBKL justify its decision for an increase.

The residents also demanded DBKL explain how it came up with the 6 per cent assessment rate for residential properties, and 12 per cent for commercial.

themalaymailonline.com

DBKL provide toll free line 1-800-220-833 (office hours only) for property owners to check, query, get more information regarding “Notice of Valuation of Property List

According to the notice by City Hall, property owners could register their objections before Dec 17.

The MPs urged city dwellers to submit their objections, and said that their service centres were already inundated with calls from houseowners on the matter.

Federal Territory Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the ministry would only make the final decision on the new rates after obtaining feedback from residents before Dec 17 and discussing the matter with all the 13 Federal Territory people's representatives including opposition leaders on Nov 21.

malaysiakini.com

He clarified that the recent notice issued by Kuala Lumpur City Hall to city folk was only a suggested rate.

malaysiakini.com