Major storm brewing for Cape Town rates and taxes
Lobby group Afriforum has confirmed that it has instructed its lawyers to prepare legal action against the City of Cape Town over a newly implemented ‘city cleaning levy’ that has riled up residents.
This follows a victory in the North Gauteng High Court against the City of Tshwane, in which a similar levy was ruled invalid and unlawful and overturned.
The City of Tshwane imposed a mandatory levy of R194 (excluding VAT) per month on approximately 260,000 households from 1 July.
The levy, presented as a ‘city cleaning levy,’ was implemented by the city to collect fees from households using private refuse removal companies instead of municipal services.
The city argued that even though these households were not using the municipal removal services, they were still benefiting from the city’s disposal and processing services and should pay a charge.
Afriforum disagreed, arguing that the levy amounted to illegal and unfair double taxation, especially in cases where residents are forced to use private service providers due to the city’s abject failure to deliver services.
The court ultimately agreed with Afriforum’s arguments and ordered the metro to ensure that all municipal accounts on which the city cleaning levy has already been levied are credited in the next billing cycle with the amount equal to the amount levied for it.
In addition, the metro must also take the necessary steps to ensure that residents and businesses are not further charged for the levy.
The court found that the metro had not complied with the requirements of Section 229(1) of the Constitution or Section 74(1) of the Municipal Systems Act and was, therefore, not entitled to impose a tax, levy, or fee for city cleansing.
“The ruling is an important victory in the interests of residents and businesses who have been unfairly affected by the implementation of this levy,” Afriforum said.
“The implementation of this levy was nothing more than a fundraising ploy aimed at covering up years of poor planning and mismanagement. The court’s decision sends a clear message that municipalities must also obey the law and that communities are ready to fight injustice and illegal actions.”
The City of Tshwane said it will appeal the ruling.
Cape Town is next
With the Tshwane ruling under its belt, Afriforum said that the City of Cape Town would be next.
“Afriforum’s legal team has already been instructed to take legal action against Cape Town’s new ‘cleansing levy’ as well,” said Afriforum chief executive, Kallie Kriel.
The City of Cape Town launched a similar “city cleaning levy” from 1 July 2025. While Tshwane’s levy was a fixed rate for specific households, Cape Town’s fee applies to all properties and is progressive, based on the value of the property.
The city has argued that by attaching the fees to property values, it is able to tap those who are able to pay higher rates to fund its “pro-poor budget”, including the R40 billion infrastructure investment over the next three years.
However, the move has drawn wide backlash from residents, property bodies and interest groups, and has even drawn legal action from the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA).
SAPOA launched a High Court application seeking a review of the levies, with the Cape Town Collective Ratepayers’ Association (CTCRA) looking to join as a friend of the court.
The groups are arguing that there is no legislative basis for the levy to exist.
They have added that the tax is not tied to any service rendered to properties but is rather a revenue-generating tool to pay for the general cost of running a city, like road maintenance, emergency services and dozens of other expenses.
As is the case in Tshwane, this could amount to a double tax, as progressive property rates are already paid by households to fund this.
The CTCRA said that it is vital that the new levies are challenged, because if they are allowed to persist, it is only a matter of time before other metros across the country adopt similar revenue-generating tactics at the cost of residents.
“It is critical that the rule of law, fairness in service delivery, and constitutional accountability are upheld — not just for our city, but for the nation,” it said.
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