Overview
- Cape Town’s largest ratepayer coalition asked the city to extend the 2026/27 budget comment window to May 15 after the High Court scrapped fixed charges for water, sanitation and cleaning.
- The court suspended its order until June 30, which keeps the current year’s charges in place but requires a new tariff design for the budget that starts July 1.
- Judges found the city’s water tariff and other fixed fees unlawful because they were tied to property values rather than actual use, which the litigants argued the law does not allow.
- The city said it is still studying the ruling and warned that losing its cross‑subsidy model could squeeze funds for basic infrastructure and raise costs for lower‑ and middle‑income homes.
- Calls for refunds grew, with the Good Party seeking legal advice to compel paybacks, while Sapoa said refunds were not asked for in court and would be hard to work out, and AfriForum said the ruling signals that tariffs must track consumption across municipalities.