Property owners hit back over fixed tariffs

THE SA Property Owners Association (SAPOA) has accused Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis of unfairly portraying property owners as being wealthy enough not to feel the impact of the City’s tariffs.

- THEOLIN TEMBO

SAPOA filed a replying affidavit in response to Hill-Lewis' court papers.

At the centre of the dispute, SAPOA is challenging the City’s fixed tariffs and their decision to link certain fixed charges to property values.

In its court application, SAPOA is asking for the three tariffs in the Budget, namely the Cleaning Tariff, the Fixed Water Charge, and the Fixed Sanitation Charge be declared unconstitutional and invalid. SAPOA’s membership currently comprises more than 90% of the country’s commercial and retail property industry, including some of the largest property-owning companies in South Africa. Initially, Hill-Lewis, in response to SAPOA's court action, said that if they got their way, it would lead to a R4.2bn budgetary shortfall if all three fixed tariffs were set aside.