City of Tshwane clamps down on illegal land use

The Tshwane city council has approved the implementation of penalty rates on 713 property owners identified by the administration for illegal land use and failure to take remedial action.

This includes some illegal developments as well as individual properties spread all over the city that are being used for purposes in contravention of the current zoning.

These properties will now be recategorised for rates purposes as “unpermitted use” and the owners compelled to pay penalty rates.

Ben Espach, director at Rates Watch, previously said the rates for a residential property valued at R1 million amount to R1 016 per month, before applying any rebates. If the same property is classified as non-permitted use, this would increase to R7 628 per month (based on 2023/24 tariffs).

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Missing out on billions in property rates

Republican Conference of Tshwane councillor Lex Middelberg calculated that the cash-strapped metro is missing out on more than R3 billion in property rates by failing to impose penalty rates on around 20 identified illegal developments comprising almost 20 000 “erven”.

The current Tshwane administration has seemingly taken this to heart and has resolved to act.

Executive mayor Dr Nasipho Moya recently appointed a sub-committee to develop a response to the increasing illegal developments.

A report by the sub-committee that Moneyweb has seen, which is expected to serve before council later this month, acknowledges penalty rates as one option, but seems hesitant in this regard.

One of the other options it proposes is to demolish illegal structures, which may affect more than 10 000 houses.

Member of the mayoral committee for economic development and spatial planning Sarah Mabotsa has in the meantime taken action and obtained council approval for imposing penalty rates on 713 non-compliant property owners.

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Severe implications

“The non-permitted land use activities range from unauthorised commercial activities in residential zones, through to illegal construction and land encroachments,” says Mabotsa in a statement.

“The implications of these violations on the city and its residents are significant, as they can lead to loss of revenue, inability to access critical servitudes, offer unfair land use activity and commercial advantages to transgressors, increase the costs of policing for the city, and can have potential safety and legal liabilities.

“The suburbs where these illegal land use activities have been identified are literally an ‘A to Z’ – Arcadia to Zwavelpoort – of the City of Tshwane,” she adds.

The areas or farms include Alphenpark, Annlin, Arcadia, Ashlea Gardens, Atteridgeville, Bon Accord, Booysens, Brooklyn, Capital Park, De Onderstepoort, Derdepoort, Die Wilgers, Eersterust, Elandsfontein, Eldoraigne, Ga-Rankuwa, Garsfontein, Haakdoornboom, Hartebeesfontein, Hazelwood, Kameeldrift, Kleinfontein, Kudube, Laudium, Magalieskruin, Montana, Moreleta Park, Olievenhoutbosch, Onderstepoort, Pretoria Central, Pretoria North, Silverton, Sinoville, Soshanguve, Sunnyside, The Reeds, The Willows, Waterkloof, Witfontein and Zwavelpoort.

While several large illegal township developments are included in this list – for example those occurring on one or two large properties at Elandsfontein, Haakdoornboom, Kleinfontein, Kudube, and Onderstepoort – non-permitted land use activities have also been identified several individual smaller properties in Pretoria Central, Pretoria North, Sunnyside, Sinoville, Witfontein and Silverton.

Mabotsa says the 713 properties have a combined municipal value of R1.3 billion, with the average property value being R1.9 million.

She notes that the city’s department of economic development and spatial planning receives numerous complaints related to contraventions of zoning, national building regulations and its outdoor advertising by-law.

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Proactive and reactive measures

“The recommendation to implement non-permitted land use rates is one mechanism we use to encourage landowners engaged in non-[compliant] land use activities to correct their actions,” says Mabotsa.

“To identify illegal land use activities, law enforcement officials in Tshwane utilise a combination of proactive and reactive measures.

“Proactive measures include regular inspections and patrolling, as well as satellite imagery to detect unauthorised activities. Reactive measures involve responding to complaints and reports from the public.”

Once an illegal activity is confirmed, contravention notices are served to the owners of the property to rectify the contraventions.

If the contraventions are not rectified, the matter may be referred to the courts for criminal prosecution.

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Land use contraventions, if not corrected, are referred to city’s finance department to implement rates and taxes for non-permitted land use.

After the landowner has addressed the illegal activity, the economic development and spatial planning department informs the city’s property valuation section so that the finance department can reverse or terminate the tariff for that owner, Mabotsa explains.

“Ensuring more compliant land use activities is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the City of Tshwane’s development plans and ensuring sustainable growth,” she adds.

“By implementing the non-permitted land use policies, the city can better manage land use violations, protect its financial interests, and promote a more orderly and compliant, equitable development environment for all its residents.”

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Preventing chaotic urban sprawl

The economic development and spatial planning department has indicated that the implementation of the non-permitted land use rates and taxes, in terms of the Municipal Property Rates Act and bylaws, is currently by far the most powerful and successful manner used to force the discontinuation of illegal land uses, according to Matsopa.

“Township establishment laws are designed to prevent chaotic urban sprawl and ensure that city infrastructure keeps pace with development.

“For example, when an estate is established legally, the developers contribute to the cost of expanding roads, water, sewage and electricity services. Those costs that are then passed on to property purchasers.”

When a development happens illegally, developer contributions could unfairly be expected to be paid for by all other ratepayers.

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“Illegal developments can also place too much strain on available electricity or other services in an area,” says Mabotsa.

“Legal development processes also protect homeowners and residents. The processes ensure that homes are built on stable land and not in environmentally vulnerable areas.

“In some illegal estates, there has also been no formal subdivision of the land.

“This means that purchasers in illegal estates may not actually own the land that they live on,” she points out.

“From a broader sustainability perspective, allowing illegal developments to flourish risks destroying prime agricultural land or biodiversity hotspots, weakening both food security and ecological resilience.”

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.