Special Consent (Consent Use) applications explained

Every zoning category has a list of primary uses (allowed as of right) and a list of consent uses (allowed only with the municipality's written permission). Special Consent - also called a Consent Use application - is the SPLUMA process for getting that written permission.

Because the use is already contemplated by the scheme, the planner is not asking the municipality to change the rules; they are asking it to authorise a use the scheme already foresees. That is why Special Consent is typically faster, cheaper and lower-risk than a rezoning.

Common Special Consent applications include: a second dwelling on a Residential 1 erf; a guesthouse, bed-and-breakfast or short-term letting use; a home occupation that exceeds the as-of-right threshold; a place of worship in a residential area; a crèche or educational institution outside its primary zoning; and certain telecommunications installations.

If the use you want is not listed as a consent use under the current zoning, Special Consent will not work and you must apply for a rezoning instead.

The package is a slimmer version of a rezoning: application form, motivational report, locality plan, site plan or sketch plan, title deed, owner's consent, public-participation proof and any specialist input the scheme calls for (parking layout, hours of operation, signage). Building plans are not part of the application but must follow the consent.

The authorised official or Municipal Planning Tribunal weighs the proposal against the scheme criteria for that consent use. Conditions are common - limited hours, capped number of guests, screening, parking provision - and the consent usually lapses if the use is not commenced within a fixed period.