What is a Consent Use Application 

A Consent Use Application is a formal application that is submitted to a local municipality to obtain permission or consent for a specific land use within the parameters of the existing zoning of the property. A consent use application seeks permission from a Municipality to obtain specific development rights without changing the primary zoning category of a property.

A Consent Use can allow the owner to legally apply for a secondary or additional land use subject to the development controls of the relevant Town Planning Scheme. An example is a Residential 1 zoned property with consent for a Place of Instruction (School)

Understanding a Consent Use Application 

Consent Use Application a certain type of land use rights that Council may consider as a secondary land use right on farm portions, agricultural holdings or erven.

Secondary land use rights are land use rights associated with the specific zoning of a property and is usually seen as a subservient or ancillary land use rights, to the primary land use right, or zoning of the specific property. 

It is therefore important to determine the existing land use rights of a property by obtaining the zoning certificate of the specific property.

It is also important to understand that the zoning certificate needs to be evaluated and read in conjunction with the specific Town Planning Scheme or Land Use Scheme of the Municipal area in which the property is located, as there are many different Town Planning Schemes and Land Use Schemes within the Municipal areas of South Africa.

As a result, the different zoning demarcations’ such as Business, Residential, Industrial, Commercial, Agricultural etc., may have different definitions and secondary or consent use associated to the primary land use rights.

Furthermore, the specific Town Planning Scheme or Land Use Scheme also regulates other development controls such as, Floor Area Ratio, Coverage, Building Lines and Density.

What types of uses can be applied for with a consent use Application? 

The types of land uses that can be applied for differ from each municipality and is subject to the Town Planning Scheme and Zoning Scheme Regulations. A good example is a Residential 1 zoned property in the City of Tshwane (Pretoria) can be applied for the following uses with consent: 

 

• • Backpackers

• • Boarding House

• • Commune

• • Daycare for the aged

• • Guest-house

• • Institution

• • Parking Site 

• • Place of Child Care

• • Place of Instruction

• • Place of Public Worship

• • Retirement Centre

• • Social Hall

• • Sport and Recreation Club

• • Sports and Recreation Ground

• • Veterinary Clinic 

• • Veterinary Hospital

• • Wall of Remembrance

Contact Urban Arrow today to find out what types of uses can be applied for your property!

What Documents are Required for a Consent Use Application 

The following Documents can typically be required a Consent Use Application.  

 

• • A Pre-Application as may be determined by relevant Municipality

• • Covering letter addressed to the relevant Municipality 

• • Completed Application forms. 

• • Motivation Report which complies with the relevant Municipality By-laws 

• • Locality plan indicating the locality of the property 

• • Zoning plan indicating the zoning of the current and surrounding properties on an appropriate scale 

• • Land plan indicating the Land Use of the current and surrounding properties on an appropriate scale 

• • Site Plan: Scaled drawing that displays the property cadastral, with proposed and existing structures aligned to the consent use proposal. The site plan can also indicate elevations of the proposed building work.

• • Details of the surrounding properties requiring notification List of neighbours

• • Zoning certificate (issued by the municipality) 

• • Proposed Annexure/ Zoning Rights 

• • Registered title deed

• • Power of attorney signed by owner.

• • Consent from the Bondholder (if applicable and if bonded with a bank) – must be submitted with the application. 

• • Specialist Studies: Depending on the Consent Use Proposal and requirements of the Municipality, specialist studies such as Services Report, Geotechnical Report, Traffic Impact study etc may be required. 

Why do you need to apply for Consent use? 

There are several reasons why a property owner would want to obtain consent. Some general reasons include:

 

• • Ensure legal Compliance: In various cases, obtaining consent use can be legal requirement deepening on the active or proposed land use. Failure to secure this consent may result in penalties, fines, or legal actions against the individual or property owner.

 

• • Changing of land use: A change in the use of the property, for example, if a residential area is to be converted into a Place of Childcare or Creche by means of a Consent use, 

 

• • Provision of Community Facilities. A Consent Use Application can assist to provide community related facilities such as Guest Houses, Creche Faculties Churches, Veterinary Clinic Etc as a secondary land use in primarily Residential Areas. 

Understanding the Consent Use Process 

The Consent Use Process in South Africa is subject to the requirements of the relevant Local Municipality. Each Municipality has different requirements for a Consent Use Application Process. The following process is generally applicable for a Consent Use application: 

 

• • Inquiry Stage: The landowner or developer interested in obtaining Consent Use for the property can contact a Professional Town Planner. Basic information should be provided for the purpose of the proposed Consent Use. The appointed Town Planner will conduct a desktop assessment to determine if the proposed Consent Use aligns with Council Policies. 

 

• • Pre-Application Consultation Stage: A meeting is typically arranged with the municipality’s town planning department and Consulting Town Planner. During this meeting, the potential consent use is discussed, and the municipality provides guidance on the viability of the proposal based on Council Policies.  The Pre-Application can also be provided in a written format subject and is subject to Council requirements. A Pre-Application process is helpful ass it will give guidance if the Consent Use proposal will be supported in principle. It also provides the property owner with transparency and assurance that the proposal will be supported in principle and eliminates the risk of receiving a Consent Use refusal in the process. 

 

• • Formal Application Stage: Once the landowner or developer decides to proceed with the Consent Use process, a formal application needs to be submitted to the municipality complied by a competent and professional Town Planner. This application includes various documents and payment of the relevant application fees. It is always advised that a Professional and competent Town Planner compiles the application. 

 

• • Public Participation Stage: After submission of the application, the appointed Town Planner must attend to the public participation process. The Public participation process normally runs for a period of 28 days in order to allow any infested and affected party sufficient time to comment or object on the application. Notification is normally consisting of advertisements in the Government Gazette, Local Newspapers (if required by Council), notification via registered post and on-site placard notices. The placard notice needs to be maintained for a period between 14 and 21 days. Comments and or Objections should be addressed to the Municipality. 

 

• • Technical Assessment Stage: Each required department at the Municipality must provide comments on the proposed Consent Use. The municipality may also request comments and input from External or Provincial Department depending on the nature and location of the proposed Consent Use application. 

 

• • Evaluation Stage: As soon input from all the respective and required department have been received, can the responsible Town Planner at Council evaluate the proposed Consent use. The municipality will make a decision on the application. This decision could include approving the Consent Use, approval subject to certain conditions, refusal of the Consent Use, or referring it back to the applicant for further information or amendments.

 

• • Compliance Stage: Once a Consent Use application is approved, the application will in most cases be subject to certain conditions. It remains the responsibility of the owner to ensure that all the conditions are met based on the Consent Use approval conditions. An example can be the payment of Bulk Contributions to the Municipality. Once all the conditions have been met, a zoning certificate can be issued by the Municipality with the newly applied zoning. In South Africa, the compliance is sometimes referred to as a SPLUMA Certificate or PCP Application. 

 

• • Implementation stage: After a compliance stage is completed, the property owner or developer can proceed with implementing the proposed changes in land use subject to compliance with the Consent Use conditions set by the municipality and obtaining relevant building plans and permits. 

It should be noted that the Consent Use process can vary slightly between different municipalities in South Africa. It is therefore advised that you contact a Professional Town Planner to start the Consent Use application process. 

Contact Urban Arrow today to assist with your Consent Use Application