Economy & Business

City of Johannesburg Household Municipal Bills

A typical Johannesburg household’s monthly municipal account under the city’s tariffs: property rates, electricity, water, sanitation and refuse removal, plus VAT. These figures are provided in the City of Joburg's budget books: Under the Municipal Finance Management Act, South African municipalities must include 'Table SA14: Household bills' to show what a typical household’s monthly municipal account would be under the city’s tariffs These example municipal bills are provided by the City of Joburg for 3 tiers of household types: 'middle-income', 'affordable', and 'indigent' household. The city defines the hypothetical household they use for each case - Johannesburg’s “middle-income” sample household owns a property valued at R700,000 and uses 1,000 kWh of electricity and 30 kilolitres of water a month. Affordable = property value R500,000; 500 kWh electricity; 25 kl water usage Indigent = property value R300,000; 350 kWh electricity and 20 kl water usage Because the household stays the same each year, changes in the bill reflect changes in tariffs, not in how much people use.