The City of Cape Town’s fixed charges for water, sanitation, and cleaning are now facing increased scrutiny, as the City of Cape Town Collective Ratepayers’ Association (CTCRA) announced its support for a legal challenge launched by the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa).
CTCRA, which represents 57 ratepayer groups across Cape Town, says the charges – which are linked to property values – are not only unfair but likely unlawful, Moneyweb reported.
The group warns that if left unchallenged, the city’s approach could set a worrying precedent for other municipalities nationwide.
The City of Cape Town has implemented a new city-wide cleaning levy, which is a fixed charge based on property value, not actual usage, to fund street cleaning and waste management services.
This levy is being applied to all rate-paying households, even those who already pay for refuse removal, and is structured as a sliding scale based on property values.
“We have previously been advised that the linking of fixed charges for water and sewage to property values is unlawful in terms of the legislative framework governing municipal revenue and services,” the CTCRA said in a statement.
Sapoa’s application to the High Court seeks to have the charges set aside, arguing that they constitute an illegal tax. CTCRA is now considering joining the case as a friend of the court.
The fixed charges in question include a city-wide cleaning levy, which CTCRA argues should be funded through general property rates, not a separate service fee.
“It is not a service rendered to properties but is a general cost to running a city, no different to road maintenance, emergency services and dozens of other expenses,” said CTCRA.
“There is a realistic possibility that other municipalities in South Africa will adopt the City of Cape Town’s methods.”
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has previously downplayed the backlash, framing it as pushback from wealthy commercial property owners seeking to safeguard their profits. But CTCRA rejects that notion.
“These people are not the wealthy but the middle class,” the association said, citing residents from suburbs such as Goodwood, Pinelands, Monte Vista, and Diep River.
“Home values do not equal wealth and ability to pay. The mayor keeps saying that ‘those who can afford should pay more’, but it is not for the city to be the arbiter on who can pay and who can’t.”
CTCRA insists the court case is not about how the city chooses to spend its budget but whether it is complying with legal requirements in how it raises revenue.
“Regardless of CoCT’s rhetoric or even its intentions, it must act within the bounds of the law and this means the Constitution as well as laws governing local government revenue and services.”
The association says it has made alternative suggestions for funding infrastructure and safety measures, such as cutting wasteful expenditure and introducing a tourist overnight levy, but the city has not meaningfully engaged with these ideas.
“The City of Cape Town cannot mitigate a charge that is not lawful.”
