DA salutes City of Cape Town for granting rates relief to residents hit by Covid-19
16 April 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) proudly congratulates the caring and well-run government in the City of Cape Town for being the only metropolitan government in South Africa that has taken bold measures to support both businesses and residents during the coronavirus crisis. In particular, we salute the DA-led Cape Town for offering much needed property rates relief to Capetonians who have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Cape Town joins the likes of DA-run Stellenbosch, Overstrand and Mossel Bay municipalities in offering embattled ratepayers some form of payment relief.
The Cape Town council has announced that commercial property owners will be able to obtain rates relief if they can prove that their business income has been negatively affected by the crisis. Qualifying businesses that fall into arrears may apply to make payment arrangements to pay off the rates over an agreed number of months. No interest will be charged, or debt management actions taken for the duration of the arrangement, provided it is honoured. This is subject to formal application, and, once the crisis is over, the municipality will work with applicants to repay the principal outstanding debt on reasonable terms.
The City has also made the same rates relief available to individual households on the same terms. All property owners whose accounts will fall into arrears due to loss of income from the coronavirus crisis can make payment arrangements with the City to pay the rates over an agreed number of months without any interest or penalties being charged for the duration of the arrangement.
But the relief measures do not end there. The council has also resolved to grant indigent relief to property owners who have lost their jobs at this time of crisis and now have a household income of less than R6 000 per month. The council will further grant additional rates rebates to pensioners and disabled property owners who have experienced a reduction in investment returns and household income due to Covid-19. The City has adjusted the processes of its Indigent, Disabled and Pensioner rebate applications to enable a faster qualification for these rebates. Instead of the normal three-month assessment period, applicants will now be assessed over just one month of income.