High court strikes down Cape Town’s 'unlawful' fixed municipal charges

The City of Cape Town’s new tariff policy has suffered a major legal setback after the Western cape high court ruled that several fixed municipal charges were unlawful.

The court found the city acted unlawfully in linking fixed charges for water sanitation and city wide cleaning services to property values.

The ruling follows a legal challenge brought by the South African property owners association (Sapoa) arguing the tariffs introduced by the city in its 2025/26 budget were unlawful.

The Western cape court upheld Sapoa’s case on Thursday declaring the city's tariffs unlawful but suspended the ruling until the 30th of June to give the city time to implement lawful alternatives.

Sapoa CEO Neil Gopal said the organisation is satisfied the court vindicated its long-held view that the tariffs were unlawful.

"We look forward to a constructive consultation with the city in order to arrive at a lawful budget for next year's financial year which meets the needs of the city and it's residents," said Gopal

Cape Town collective ratepayers’ association which acted as a friend of the court said that the ruling has serious implications for the city’s budget.

The collective's Bas Zuidberg said "The court has set aside these charges starting the 30-th of June in 2026 which means that they cannot be levied in the next year and this has an effect on the budget."

The city said that it's analysing the judgment to consider its options for appeal.