Section 23, Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 6 of 2004, (hereafter MPRA) prescribes for the establishment and maintenance of a property register for every local municipality within South Africa. Internationally the property data base which includes values for the purposes of property rating is known as the fiscal cadastre. Limitations to the current legislative provisions, contradictions within the institutional arrangements especially within the national tier of government and various interpretations at the operational or local government level result in the property register falling short of global good practice.

This study investigates the linkages between the property register, effective property taxation and municipal sustainability in local government in South Africa