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      Not yet sourced - do not publish a figure until the City's tariff schedule is obtained.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