The City of Johannesburg encourages property owners whose homes attract a business property-rates tariff to check whether they qualify to apply for the residential tariff through the City’s 2026/27 application process.
The City’s Director of Communications and Stakeholder Management in Group Finance, Kgamanyane Maphologela, encouraged affected owners to review their municipal accounts and obtain guidance on the appropriate application process.
“If your property is used as a home but attracts a business property-rates tariff, check your account and ask the City whether you qualify to apply for the residential tariff. Submit the prescribed form and retain your reference number so that you can follow up on your application,” said Maphologela.
The current residential-rates application form identifies properties zoned General, Special and Undetermined.
Understanding zoning, rating category and actual use
A property’s zoning, its category for property-rates purposes and its actual use are distinct. A property that is zoned Business may be rated as Business or Commercial even though it is occupied and used for residential purposes, because it is zoned Business, General, Special and Undetermined.
- Zoning: The legal land-use rights attached to a property under the applicable townplanning framework.
- Property-rates category: The classification used for property-rates purposes, which informs the applicable tariff.
- Actual use: How the property is occupied and used in practice.
Applying for a residential property-rates tariff is not an application to rezone the property. Approval of the tariff does not change the property’s zoning or authorise a land use that is not permitted under that zoning.
How to apply
- Check the property-rates tariff on your municipal account and obtain the prescribed 2026/27 residential-rates application form from the City.
- Complete the form and submit it at your nearest City of Johannesburg Customer Service Centre, with the supporting documents required by the form.
- Provide a certified copy of the owner’s ID. Where an agent applies on the owner’s behalf, provide a power of attorney authorising the agent to act and a certified copy of the agent’s ID.
- Ask the receiving official for a reference number and retain it for follow-up.
The City may inspect the property as part of its assessment. If the residential tariff is approved and the property’s use subsequently changes to commercial use, the owner must notify the City in writing. The current form also states that approval is personal to the present owner and does not pass automatically to a subsequent owner.
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