UNUSUALLY HIGH WATER BILL?

INTRODUCTIONThere can be nothing more alarming than suddenly receiving a monthly invoice containing municipal charges that far exceed what you had expected or budgeted for. There are three possible reasons why you may have suddenly received an unusually high water bill. The City* may have:i. overestimated the amounts that you should be charged for based
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SPOLIATION IN COMMERCIAL LEASES

INTRODUCTION It is a settled law that if a landlord unlawfully deprives a tenant of electricity or water supply at a residential property, this constitutes spoliation, or unlawful dispossession. This unlawful dispossession can beprotected by bringing an application to a Court for an order that the supply be restored immediately. The action under which this
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REVERSAL OF RATES AS A RESULTS OF A CATEGORIZATION CHANGE

INTRODUCTION This article considers when, and the extent to which, charges ought to be reversed from a consumer’s account as a result of a categorization change. RATING CATEGORIZATIONS The law provides that municipalities are entitled to determine the categories in respect of which properties within their jurisdictions fall for rating purposes. These categories must, by
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ENGINEERING CONTRIBUTION FIGURES

INTRODUCTION Sections 20(2)(c)(i), 48, 63, and Chapter 5 of the Town Planning and Townships Ordinance 15 of 1986 (“the Ordinance”) deal with the levying and payment of engineering contribution figures. These are essentially amounts payable by a person who has applied for rights to change the use of a property, in order to facilitate the
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MUDDYING THE WATERS:COJ’S CONFUSING “ZONING DRIVEN RATING POLICY”

INTRODUCTION HOW PROPERTY RATES ARE CHARGED In terms of the Act a consumer’s liability for property rates is determined by two factors, the first of which is the municipal property valuation and the second of which is the rating categorization that the property is put into by the municipality. The rating categorization must be one
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A TAX TO BIN?

Municipalities levy numerous taxes and service charges against properties located in their jurisdiction. These include charges for electricity consumption and water consumption, which are considered service charges levied against the property. Other charges include property rates and sewer charges which municipalities categorise as taxes levied against the property. Interestingly, the City of Johannesburg Municipality (COJ)
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