Planning resources, with the fine print attached.

City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme, 2018 (as amended, 2025)

City of Johannesburg

Start with the property’s use zone and development controls, then inspect its amendment scheme, scheme map annotations, annexures and schedules. Clause 3(5) excludes cellular masts from the scheme’s land-use procedures; clause 7 separately addresses building plans. No later consolidated amendment was identified in the official sources reviewed.

Relevant parts: Clauses 3(5), 6–8, 17–21, 24 and 41; maps and annexures

Land Use Scheme Review — Item 108, Annexure A

City of Johannesburg

Retained as review history only. Do not use this document instead of the 2018 scheme as amended in 2025 and operative from 1 July 2026.

Map 3 zoning and amendment-scheme map service

City of Johannesburg — Corporate Geo-Informatics

Use the zoning, density, height, building-line, no-access and amendment-scheme layers as a finding aid. CGIS expressly requires verification against the scheme and applicable amendment schemes; the map does not remove title-deed restrictions or prove that web data is error-free.

Registered stands, townships and title-deed map service

City of Johannesburg — Corporate Geo-Informatics

Useful for identifying stands, townships, farms and related property layers. It is not a replacement for an up-to-date Surveyor-General diagram, deeds search, title deed or conveyancer’s verification.

Municipal Planning By-law Amendment, 2023

City of Johannesburg

Read the amendment with the principal 2016 by-law. Section 53 concerns clearance for registration of a sectional-title scheme, not every property transfer; sections 34(5) and 34(6) address implementation of subdivisions and consolidations. Other transactions can have different statutory requirements.

Relevant parts: Sections 34(5)–(6), 47, 49 and 52–59

Schedule 1 — application documents, notice and advertising requirements

City of Johannesburg

Use the item for the actual application type. Documents, public participation and referral needs are not identical across rezoning, consent, subdivision, township and other applications; check the current form and any site-specific direction as well.

Relevant parts: Schedule 1, read with sections 46–48

Land Use Management Application Submission Manual

City of Johannesburg — Development Planning

A scanned process manual covering submissions, objections and appeals. It predates the 2023 by-law amendment and 2025 scheme amendment; use the amended by-law, current forms and current official instructions where they differ.

CPMS Architect’s Toolkit, forms and FAQs

City of Johannesburg — City Permit Management System

CPMS lists online submission for Site Development Plans, building plans, section 7(6) applications, hoarding and demolition. Its professional-registration and building-plan instructions do not create a universal route for every land-development application.

LA2 — post-approval subdivision application form

City of Johannesburg — Development Planning

The indexed title identifies a post-approval subdivision form, but the file returned 404 on the check date. No current form instruction is inferred; obtain the current form and read it with the approval conditions, Surveyor-General requirements and section 34(5).

LA4 — post-approval consolidation application form

City of Johannesburg — Development Planning

The indexed title identifies a post-approval consolidation form, but the file returned 404 on the check date. No current form instruction is inferred; obtain the current form and check the decision, section 34(6), clearance requirements and registration documents rather than treating it as a general transfer certificate.

Land Use Management Fees Schedule 2026/2027

City of Johannesburg — Development Planning

Use the line item for the actual application and check whether publication, copies or other charges are separate. These application fees are not the same as development contributions, utility connection charges, professional fees or construction costs.

Approved tariffs for the 2026/2027 financial year

City of Johannesburg — Group Finance

Use the relevant municipal-entity schedule for service charges. Do not treat consumption tariffs as development contributions or assume every development pays the same utility and connection charges.

Development Contributions Policy 2021 and calculator listing

City of Johannesburg — Development Planning

The reviewed page says contributions respond to increased service impact from intensified land use and that its calculator is only an estimate. The corresponding production URL returned 404 on the check date, so this staging listing is not presented as current public instructions; confirm the policy, budget calculation and payment stage with the City for the specific approval.

SAPOA v City of Johannesburg — development contributions

High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division (SAFLII copy)

The Court dismissed the final-interdict application and addressed the legality and rationality of the 2021 policy’s implementation. It is context, not a substitute for the current policy, adopted budget, decision conditions or advice on a particular property.

Johannesburg Spatial Development Framework 2040 (2024)

City of Johannesburg — City Transformation and Spatial Planning

Use the SDF with its Nodal Review, inclusionary-housing provisions and applicable local spatial plan. Policy supports decision-making but does not itself rezone a property or override its scheme controls and title conditions.

Relevant parts: Annexures 1–4; spatial-plan hierarchy and development tables

Nodal Review — nodes, development zones and density policy

City of Johannesburg — City Transformation and Spatial Planning

The document states 27 February 2020 approval; the November 2024 spatial-plan audit lists 2021, so that audit year is inconsistent. Its UDF/precinct-plan validity rule is five years subject to renewal, review, re-formulation and decision-process exceptions—do not assume every older plan simply disappeared.

Council-approved Spatial Plans Audit and status list

City of Johannesburg — City Transformation and Spatial Planning

The nine-page audit separates current approved plans from lapsed, archive and in-process records. Use it to identify the relevant precinct/local plan, then confirm subsequent Council renewal, review or rescission and read the actual plan for the property.

Inclusionary Housing — Incentives, Regulations and Mechanisms

City of Johannesburg

The framework makes inclusionary housing mandatory for qualifying development applications with 20 or more dwelling units and describes options with a minimum 30% inclusionary component; voluntary participation below 20 units is addressed separately. Determine prevailing spatial controls first and read this framework with the 2024 SDF amendments and site-specific approval conditions.

Precinct Plan Formulation Guidelines — SDF Annexure 3 link

City of Johannesburg — City Transformation and Spatial Planning

The SDF’s official short link redirected to OneDrive but returned 403 on the check date. The underlying guidelines could not be inspected, so no procedural claim is made from this listing and it is not treated as an adopted local development rule.

Advertised land-use applications listing

City of Johannesburg — Development Planning

Do not assume this page contains every current notice. Follow the application-specific notice, newspaper, Provincial Gazette, site-notice and objection instructions in the amended by-law and the actual application record.

Appeal Process Information

City of Johannesburg — Development Planning

The guide addresses internal appeals and the parties who may appeal. The amended section 49(1) gives 28 days; use the actual decision notice to establish notification and appeal details, and check the amended by-law rather than relying on an older manual alone.

Relevant parts: By-law sections 49 and 51

Planning objections, decisions, interveners and appeals — by-law provisions

City of Johannesburg

Different provisions govern representations, objections, reasons, intervener status, internal appeals and provincial review or appeal routes. Standing, notice and timing depend on the application and the person’s participation or affected rights.

Relevant parts: Sections 47, 49, 51, 52, 58, 59 and 68

Road-reserve work and wayleave interface

Johannesburg Roads Agency / City of Johannesburg

Road-reserve work requires the relevant JRA written approval and valid wayleave. A current standalone JRA application-instruction page was not verified on the check date; confirm the current route with JRA. This referral applies when the proposal affects the road reserve, not automatically to every planning application.

Electricity supply applications and SPU/LPU guidance

City Power / City of Johannesburg

The page distinguishes small and large power users and links application material. City Power serves properties outside Eskom’s supply area; confirm the distributor, available capacity, connection scope and current forms for the site rather than applying one checklist to all developments.

Water and sanitation new-services interface

Johannesburg Water / City of Johannesburg

The page directs new-service applications and queries to Johannesburg Water’s regional customer-service centres. A current public development-capacity and engineering-referral procedure was not verified; obtain application-specific water, sewer and capacity requirements from the utility.

National Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999

Republic of South Africa — Department of Sport, Arts and Culture

Section 34 requires a provincial heritage permit to alter or demolish a structure older than 60 years. Section 38 requires early notification for listed categories of development. Screen the site and activity with the responsible heritage authority; planning approval does not replace that process.

Relevant parts: Sections 34 and 38; other protections may also apply

EIA Listing Notices 1, 2 and 3 — 2021 amendment compilation

Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

Screen the proposed activity against the applicable listing notices and their thresholds, exclusions and competent-authority rules. This 2021 compilation is not presented as a complete consolidation through 2026; environmental authorisation is separate from municipal land-use permission.

National Environmental Authorisation System (NEAS)

Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

NEAS is the official portal for environmental-authorisation applications and records where the EIA framework applies. Use the competent authority’s current process and an appropriately registered environmental assessment practitioner; do not infer a Gauteng-specific rollout date from unverified notices.