With the ongoing court cases around the City of Cape Town’s rates saga, we’d like to hear how this has affected our Cape Town residents. We’ll be in court following the story and you can talk to us about how these increases have affected your bottom line (and even send us your rate bills, if you care to).
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At least you receive services for the rates you pay, look outside your bubble to see in what position the rest of the country is. Property owners who are happy to make huge profits when selling their houses are unhappy to pay the lowest % property rates in the country because they live in the best run metro in the country. The protests and complaints, with respect, defy logic and common sense.
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While I sympathise with those in other SA municipalities who pay but don’t get services, the fact that my municipal bill has increased by nearly R2000 (from R7302.02 to R9267.96) from June to July 2025 is unacceptable to someone on a fixed income who has lived in the same house since 1994 and has no desire to sell their home for profit. The rich should pay and subsidise the poor in our highly unequal society, but simply escalating muncipal charges based on the municipal value of the home is a blunt instrument of redistribution. The CoCT is effectively forcing older home owners to sell their homes in order to foot municpal bills. Not an equitable solution, Mr Mayor!
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And in our area, Vredehoek, they now want to introduce a CID with tariffs based on property values again. This Major has lost touch. He introduces a new “Cleaning levy” and then wants the CID to pay for the cleaning which is their duty anyway. So we effectively paying for the same service 3 times, what is he smoking
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Has your Cape Town bill also rocketed up in September?
I have pre-pay electricity – so this is the basic bill.
I did not receive an account for August, so I paid July twice. And now this
Separating the cleaning levy (and other items now separated) out from the electricity usage cost is a national requirement and must be in place across all municipalities in a couple or a few years’ time. It is a good thing because you can see exactly what you are paying for and don’t have some costs hidden in the cost of electricity. I live in a CID - the additional items paid there can only be implemented if the majority of your district votes for them. Complain to your neighbours, not the city. The city continues to provide the same service that it provides across the city - the CID fees fund additional services in the district. So, paying twice (the “third” time has been removed from the electricity cost) gets you twice the service.
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My Rates and services bill has increased by quite a bit and as we are retired and on fixed income it hurts, BUT, I would rather live here in Cape Town with increased fees knowing that the increased fees are being used honestly to keep our ship not only afloat, but on course and going strong. Just seeing the new metro police and LEAPS being introduced yesterday and knowing that JP is going in the right direction with our safety and security even though he is hamstrung by national government is a relief. As I said the increase hurts, but it must be based on property values and it is fair as we all know the cliff that most other municipalities have fallen over elsewhere. Onward Cape Town, i wouldn’t be anywhere else in South Africa. Chris
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My city council bill (excluding pre-paid electricity) has increased by 37% from May to August. Most of the increase is due to the “fixed” charges (not fixed, but a function of property value). This should not be so. If they have to charge based upon property value (which I strongly disagree with), then it should form part of the rates charge (which would save us 15% of the charge, as rates do not draw VAT).
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So you are saying that people cannot complain because the government here has a better service than the rest of the country? The problem is if people do not complain, like in the rest of the country, then it gives the government free reign to do as they please, believing that the citizenry is happy as there are no complaints.
If you are unhappy, you must complain; it is required from us in a democracy, and to shame those who are standing up and voicing their opinions, with respect, defies logic and common sense.
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I am certainly not saying you cannot complain but you also need to consider your situation in the greater context of where the country sits and on the greater number of persons requiring services but being unable to pay for them. If you have a better alternative to funding CoTs budget I am sure that they will be happy to hear from you as you have the privilege of a competent administration. Finally bear in mind that if you want to live by first world standards cost follow and as much as I agree that property rates are regressive we all suffer from the same malaise with little alternative. As I said at least you can show something for what you pay, the rest of us in SA cannot even do that.
up by 20% on R5k bill.
My bill has increased by around 20%, as have the bills of everyone I have spoken to about this (15-20% increases). The people who live in other cities and say “suck it up at least your city is well run” are entirely missing the point. The point is that many of the changes are legally questionable to say the least; that the City ignored tens of thousands of comments from ratepayers on the draft budget; and that it is simply unsustainable to keep increasing rates bills by 10-30% every year. Also, to the Mayor’s endlessly repeated argument that the “city cleaning tariff” was always included, it just used to be part of your electricity bill: that may be so, but they have now linked it to property value, which was not the case before, and it is now subject to VAT, further increasing the bill. We cannot have a system in SA where we accept lawlessness on the part of our “leaders” just because they are good at fixing potholes and keeping the lights on.
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Michele you miss the point. You are wrong about CoCT being “happy to hear from us” - they ignored tens of thousands of comments on the budget from ratepayers across the city. The methodology they have used to link charges to property values is legally invalid - this will be tested in court next week. You can’t possibly be arguing that just because the administration is competent in some respects it is ok for them to break the law.
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The problem with thinking about the broader country is that we are seeing that people who pay income tax (10%) and the people who own property are the ones who are consistently farmed for higher portions of their income. This becomes unsustainable and creates a sense of ‘donor fatigue’. Eventually, people with any means will look to move their assets overseas to places that they believe they will get a better return. Likewise, if you are already paying, you will be irked to pay more when there are many who pay nothing, as you so rightly say, especially if you see little to no change.
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I live in Strand. Our fixed rate electricty charge went up from R180 to R339. You can do the calc. Sewage services also went up. The property rate increased from R870 to R1015. We are pensioners whose pension increases a measly R150 per year.
The beach in Strand is closed because of sewage spills. Has been for the past 2 months. Last summer we were able to swim in the sea twice. When I asked the manager for the coastal node here when is this going to be fixed he replied with: why do we want to swim un the sea? There is a municipal swimming pool here, mos.
Not so sure about CoCT anymore.
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I have lived in the same house in Cape Town for decades. Now my my rates bill has increased from May to August by 27.7%. I am certainly not seeing a 27.7% improvement in the serivce provided by the City of Cape Town, in fact it is a bit worse.
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I will be happy to exchange your administration for the one where I live any day. I cannot comment on how rates have been calculated in CoT as I don’t know, all I can say as in BCMM we pay the highest rand for rand property rates in SA for little or no services. It is a fact that the harder you work the more you pay the more you save and look after your property the more you pay, fair or unfair is not the point that is how it works the world over and SA is no exception. Was it fair for someone living in Clifton simply because their home was classed as a shack to pay next to no rates? When this was changed the multimillion rand “shack owners” complained about unfair rates which was with respect laughable. If you want Cape Town to have a budget and to remain the way it is and for services to be delivered the way they are someone has to pay for them. If there are defaulters who pay next to nothing and who should pay that is different from complaining about how your rates should be structured. Mine are for the equivalent rand value about 20-25% higher than yours because our city’s administration is incompetent and there is precious little I can do about it either than hope that one day the ratepayers will vote to change the current administrators.
OK here’s a suggestion from one who has lived in the same house for nearly 32 years and whose municipal bill has increased over 20% since July 2025. Our house is bond free but the municipal bill is now 1/3 of my pension which is not sustainable.
How about when properties change hands there should be a significant once off charge going to municpal infrastructure (new and maintenance) as a % of the sale price. This would be progressive eg properties changing hands over say R20m would contribute to the City’s responsibilities (to the poor) at a time when the buyers/sellers would be somewhat more cash flush than those of us saddled with 20% monthly increases?
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Our rates bill increased by R1000 from R4200. We bought 12 years ago and stretched ourselves to our limit to do it. It has increased in value but we have also improved the property and that is the reason most people buy property, so it gains value and they have options in their old age to provide for themselves. I completely understand the need to improve infrustructure and help those less fortunate but the premise that property value represents income is incredibly flawed. It doesn’t take into account if people are retired, or have disabled family members or how many people they employ and support. We can afford the rates increase but only just and mainly because interest rates have dropped as we are still paying off the bond, I have alot of sympathy for those who have to pay much more and can’t afford it.
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We live in Simon’s Town and have done since 1995, and yes this escalation in our monthly Rates Accounts in the last two months is unacceptable. The actual Property Rates have risen by over R1 000.00 a month, the add on for ‘City Wide Cleaning’ of R633.13 plus the increases in the cost of water, disposal etc. means that we are paying over R2 000.00 more each month.
It’s time that the Mayor and the Council tuned in to reality, and stopped telling us how privileged we are to be under their jurisdiction.
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