Sourced reference · 2026/27 financial year (tariffs approved May–July 2026)

    Municipal town planning application fees compared.

    What Cape Town, Johannesburg, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni and Mbombela each charge to lodge a planning application, taken from their own approved tariff schedules for the 2026/27 financial year (tariffs approved may–july 2026). All figures are VAT-inclusive as published. Where a municipality's tariff has not been sourced, the row says so rather than carrying an estimate.

    Rezoning

    6 municipalities

    Changing an erf's zoning category. The widest spread of any application type - and the clearest evidence that fee levels track local tariff policy rather than municipality size.

    • Johannesburg

      R9,500

      per erf

      City of Johannesburg, Development Planning Fees Schedule 2026/2027 (joburg.org.za)

    • Cape Town

      R8,700

      basic fee, up to 10,000 m²

      City of Cape Town, Land Use Management Tariffs, effective 1 July 2026 (capetown.gov.za)

    • Ekurhuleni

      R5,627.24

      application fee only - advertising charged separately

      Ekurhuleni, Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za)

    • eThekwini

      R3,465

      up to 5,000 m². R12,318 for 5,000 m²–5 ha; R30,756 for 5–10 ha; R30,756 plus R3,465 per additional hectare above 10 ha

      eThekwini, Tariff Tables 2026/2027 (dag.durban.gov.za)

    • Mbombela

      R15,644

      per erf

      Mbombela, Sundry Town Planning and Local Economic Development 2026/2027 (mbombela.gov.za)

    • Tshwane

      Not yet sourced - verify

      Not yet sourced - do not publish a figure until the City's tariff schedule is obtained.

      City of Tshwane tariff schedule 2026/27

    Subdivision

    3 municipalities

    Splitting one registered property into two or more. eThekwini charges a basic fee plus a per-portion fee that tapers as the number of portions rises.

    • Ekurhuleni

      R849.06

      including compliance certificate

      Ekurhuleni, Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za)

    • eThekwini

      R1,610 basic fee, plus per portion

      under 6 subdivisions: R784 per portion; 6–10: R627 per portion; 11–20: R470 per portion; 21 and above: R315 per portion

      eThekwini, Tariff Tables 2026/2027 (dag.durban.gov.za)

    • Tshwane

      Not yet sourced - verify

      Not yet sourced.

      City of Tshwane tariff schedule 2026/27

    Consolidation

    2 municipalities

    Merging two or more registered properties into a single erf.

    • Ekurhuleni

      R675.27

      Ekurhuleni, Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za)

    • eThekwini

      R1,572

      eThekwini, Tariff Tables 2026/2027 (dag.durban.gov.za)

    Removal of restrictive conditions

    2 municipalities

    Removing or amending a title deed condition that blocks what the zoning would otherwise allow. eThekwini charges a higher rate where the removal amounts to a material change.

    • Ekurhuleni

      R890.02

      Ekurhuleni, Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za)

    • eThekwini

      R3,111

      R4,351 where the removal constitutes a material change

      eThekwini, Tariff Tables 2026/2027 (dag.durban.gov.za)

    Zoning certificate / extract

    2 municipalities

    The signed certificate a municipality issues confirming a property's zoning - required to lodge almost any planning application. Requested by the registered owner or an authorised representative.

    • Cape Town

      R440

      City of Cape Town, Land Use Management Tariffs, effective 1 July 2026 (capetown.gov.za)

    • eThekwini

      R65

      department-generated

      eThekwini, Tariff Tables 2026/2027 (dag.durban.gov.za)

    Building line relaxation

    2 municipalities

    Relief from a building line so a structure can sit closer to a boundary than the scheme allows - lodged as a departure in most schemes.

    • Johannesburg

      R738

      City of Johannesburg, Development Planning Fees Schedule 2026/2027 (joburg.org.za)

    • Ekurhuleni

      R290.46 Residential 1 & 2 / R575.97 Residential 3 & 4 and non-residential

      Ekurhuleni, Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za)

    Township establishment

    2 municipalities

    Establishing a new township - the heaviest application type, and priced accordingly.

    • Ekurhuleni

      R9,551.73

      Ekurhuleni, Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za)

    • Mbombela

      R38,420

      Mbombela, Sundry Town Planning and Local Economic Development 2026/2027 (mbombela.gov.za)

    Gazette publication and appeals

    3 municipalities

    Two costs that are easy to leave out of a budget and routinely surface late in the process.

    • Johannesburg - gazette publication

      R1,200

      City of Johannesburg, Development Planning Fees Schedule 2026/2027 (joburg.org.za)

    • Ekurhuleni - gazette publication

      Applicant pays the publisher directly

      not charged as a municipal tariff

      Ekurhuleni, Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za)

    • eThekwini - appeals

      R6,131

      eThekwini, Tariff Tables 2026/2027 (dag.durban.gov.za)

    Read this before you budget

    These are the municipality's own lodgement fees - separate from professional fees.

    Every figure above is what the council charges to receive and process the application. Preparing it - the zoning research, the motivational report, the site plan, the public participation and the lodgement itself - is professional work carried out by a SACPLAN-registered town planner and charged separately. Get a fixed quote for your specific application.

    Get a fixed quote - free consult

    What the numbers actually show

    eThekwini's zoning certificate costs R65

    A department-generated zoning certificate in eThekwini is R65. Cape Town charges R440 for the equivalent document - close to seven times more for the same category of record. For anyone screening multiple properties before buying, the cost of due diligence differs by an order of magnitude depending on which metro the property sits in.

    Mbombela charges more for a rezoning than Johannesburg

    Mbombela's rezoning fee is R15,644 per erf against Johannesburg's R9,500 per erf - roughly 65% higher, in a municipality a fraction of Johannesburg's size. Municipal application fees are set by local tariff policy and cost-recovery decisions, not by the scale of the city or the complexity of the application, so a smaller municipality is not a cheaper one by default.

    eThekwini prices short-term accommodation consent as its own category

    eThekwini's tariff table lists short-term accommodation and student accommodation explicitly, at R3,267 - the same rate as a general special consent or change of use. Very few South African municipalities name short-term guest accommodation as a distinct tariff line at all. It signals that the municipality treats short-stay guest accommodation as a land use question requiring consent, not as an informal activity.

    Sources: City of Johannesburg Development Planning Fees Schedule 2026/2027 (joburg.org.za); City of Cape Town Land Use Management Tariffs effective 1 July 2026 (capetown.gov.za); Ekurhuleni Schedule 20: City Planning Tariffs 2026-27 (ekurhuleni.gov.za); eThekwini Tariff Tables 2026/2027 (dag.durban.gov.za); Mbombela Sundry Town Planning and Local Economic Development 2026/2027 (mbombela.gov.za). All figures VAT-inclusive as published, 2026/27 financial year (tariffs approved May–July 2026). Municipal tariffs change at the start of each financial year - confirm the current figure with the municipality before relying on it. Landlodz is not the charging party for any fee on this page.

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