Background to Consent Use in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality:

Consent use in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality refers to the land use rights that may be exercised on a zoning designation by way of obtaining the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality’s consent.

Consent use in the City of Johannesburg is defined as secondary land use rights in terms of the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018.

The City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 governs land use rights that may be exercised on zoning designations in terms of the definitions specified in the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 and Table B of the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018.

Consent use in terms of the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 provides for additional land use rights as secondary or subservient land use rights.

In order to assess the consent use rights that may be exercised on a property in terms of the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018, it is recommended to contact a professional town planner or town planning firm to conduct a due diligence on the specific property based on the interpretation of the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 and various other policy guidelines as promulgated by the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

Based on the proposed need for a consent use proposal and the interpretation of the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 and the various applicable policy guidelines, the correct procedure may be followed to obtain consent use land use rights in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

Different land uses allowed by means of consent use in Johannesburg? 

A residential 1-zoned property in the City of Johannesburg can apply for one of the following secondary land use rights by means of a consent use application:

• Religious purposes
• place of instruction
• childcare center
• social halls
• institutions,
• residential buildings (excluding hotels),
• special buildings,
• sport and recreation clubs,
• public or private parking areas,
• medical consulting rooms,
• tavern/shebeen,
• guest house.

It’s important to always first consult with a professional town planner to ensure that the proposed consent use can be legally executed based on the existing zoning and title deed restrictions.

The consent use process for Johannesburg:

Typically, consent use applications require a formal process to be followed as determined by the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018, and the Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law, 2016.

The process for consent use is summarized as follows:

The compilation of the Special Consent Use application may include: 

• Consent Use Application Fees paid to the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality for the consent use application
• Covering letter
• Consent Use Application Form
• Motivation Report I is in line with the provisions of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality guidelines for planning (City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 and the Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law, 2016).
• Locality plan
• Zoning plan
• Land use plan
• List of neighbors
• Zoning certificate
• Existing Annexure (if applicable)
• Proposed Annexure (Consent Use Development Controls Proposal)
• Registered title deed
• Power of attorney
• Company/Close Corporation/Trust resolution (if applicable)
• CM29 form/CK1 or 2 form/list of members of trust (if applicable)
• Consent from the bondholder (if applicable) must be submitted with the application to the City of Joburg Municipality.

Submission of the consent application to Johannesburg Municipality: 

• Consent Use Application submitted to the City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality (City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 and the Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law, 2016.)
• The consent use application was scanned onto the system of the City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality.
• The City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality circulates the consent-use application for comments.
• Departments comment on the consent use application.

Advertisement procedure for a consent in Johannesburg Municipality: 

• Notices are compiled by our offices.
• Notice boards (in English) are placed on site and should be maintained for a period of at least 21 consecutive days.
• Notification sent to surrounding property owners by registered post
• Photographs are taken of the notice boards on site.
• An affidavit is completed as confirmation that the notice boards were erected and maintained on site.
• Proof of advertisements is sent to the City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality.
• The general public will have twenty-eight (28) days to object to the application.

Following up on the consent use application in Johannesburg Municipality: 

• Following up on comments and the status of the application on a regular basis
• Corresponding with departments, if necessary
• Meetings with engineers, if necessary

Finalization of Consent in Johannesburg Municipality: 

• The City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality compiles the necessary approval documents for the consent use application.
• The consent use application was approved by the City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality if no objections and/or negative comments were received.
• The client adheres to all conditions stipulated by the City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality in the official approval letter for the consent use.
• The City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality issues the final scheme documents.
• Bulk Service Contributions are payable at the different engineering departments in the City of Joburg Metropolitan Municipality.

Benefits of obtaining consent to use your property:

Consent use applications and the land use rights that may be exercised on your property, as determined by the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018, allow for the optimal use of a subject property, which is in line with the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 and the Johannesburg Municipal Planning By-law, 2016.

The consent use rights in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality may be required to legalize existing businesses or structures on a subject property, expand current business operations, or purchase new properties with the intention to realize the consent use potential in terms of the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018.

How to find out what consent-use rights may be exercised on your property:

• Contact a professional town planner.
• Provide property details.
• Provide a consent-use proposal to the town planner.

Contact Urban Arrow today for your Consent Use Application in Johannesburg