The 2025/26 Budget adopted by the City of Cape Town on Thursday 26 June 2025 has, since publication of its first draft in March 2025, elicited a substantial public response, most of which was severely critical of the budget. Since publication of the first draft of the Budget, SAPOA has submitted three sets of comments, and have twice met with representatives of the City in order to discuss the concerns which SAPOA had regarding the proposed Budget.

These concerns focused on three key areas:

  • Introduction of a city-wide cleaning tariff;
  • Introduction of a basic fixed sanitation charge linked to property values; and
  • Amending the basic fixed water charge to a fixed charge linked to property value.

As a result of the engagements between SAPOA and the City, the City delayed the application of these impugned charges in respect of business and commercial properties for one year, until 1 July 2026. The tariffs are, however, already applicable to all vacant and residential properties.

SAPOA remains appreciative, not only of the City’s willingness to engage with us, but also that its comments have been taken into consideration.

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Based on legal advice received, SAPOA remains of the firm view, however, that the impugned tariffs as set out above are unlawful, as they offend against the legislative provisions that apply to local government. Despite the engagements as aforesaid, SAPOA and the City have been unable to agree on the correct legal position.

As a result thereof, SAPOA launched an application to the Western Cape High Court earlier this month, challenging the legality of the impugned tariffs, and requesting the Court to set these tariffs aside. Even though the impugned tariffs will only impact the majority of SAPOA members with effect from 1 July 2026, it is important to note that SAPOA members who own vacant land and residential properties are already impacted thereby.

Furthermore, if these tariffs, which have already been adopted by the City council, are only challenged once they apply to business and commercial property, a court may very well find that there is no basis for urgency in challenging the tariffs, as they had been adopted in June 2025. Any litigation then instituted will take a substantial period of time to finalise, with the added concern that, as each municipal budget builds on the previous budget, it will be virtually impossible to unscramble the proverbial egg and undoing the unlawful charges raised until the matter is eventually heard.

Furthermore, it is to the benefit of the City to have the legality of the impugned tariffs tested in court sooner rather than later, as it has to start working on the budget in respect of 2026/27 during September this year. It was, and accordingly remains, imperative for SAPOA to launch the application at the present stage.

The City has already indicated that it intends opposing the relief sought. The parties have approached the Judge President of the Western Cape High Court for a preferential date for the hearing of the matter, preferably during September 2025, and we currently await the allocation thereof. Even though the litigation has been instituted, SAPOA has indicated a desire to keep its good relationship with the City intact and has stressed that it intends approaching the litigation in a non-confrontational manner: the parties have a difference of opinion, and are asking the Court to adjudicate this difference.