Every zoning in a land use scheme carries primary rights you may exercise as of right, and a further list of uses permitted only with the municipality’s written consent. A consent use application asks for that permission. The zoning is unchanged, and the primary rights remain exactly as they were. It is narrower than a rezoning, quicker and less costly, but it is permission rather than a right. Consent is granted subject to conditions, it may be limited in time, and under some schemes it attaches to the applicant rather than to the land.
A consent use is the right application when the scheme already contemplates what you want to do. In our experience, these are the four situations that call for it.
If the scheme does not list your use under your zoning, a consent use is not available and a rezoning is the route. That is established from the scheme in the first conversation, not after an application is lodged.
Which uses require consent differs between schemes, and so do the names they are given. These five account for most of the applications we lodge.
Bed and breakfast or guest accommodation in a dwelling. The number of rooms and on-site parking usually decide the outcome.
A crèche, nursery or school. Drop-off arrangements, traffic on a residential street and outdoor space are the usual issues.
A cottage or flat additional to the main house. Coverage, building lines and whether it can be let separately are what the scheme controls.
A business run from a dwelling. Floor area, staff numbers, signage and visitor traffic determine whether consent is available.
A doctor’s, dentist’s or allied practice in a dwelling. The number of practitioners, consulting hours and parking provision determine the scale permitted.
Lighter than a rezoning, but not a form. The municipality is deciding whether this use, at this scale, works on this property.
The written case, addressing the scheme, the by-law and the SPLUMA development principles — and why the use is compatible with the surrounding properties.
Rooms, pupils, practitioners or staff; hours of operation; deliveries and visitor numbers. This is what the conditions will be written around.
The property as it will operate: parking bays, access and turning, refuse, signage and screening from neighbouring erven.
Where the property sits, what adjoins it, and what comparable uses already operate in the area.
A recent title deed showing any registered conditions, and the approved building plans for the structures the use will occupy.
Bondholder consent where required, the owner’s authority where you are a tenant, and authority for us to lodge and act.
A scheme that permits the use by consent does not override a title deed that prohibits it. Restrictive conditions limiting a property to a single dwelling, or to residential purposes only, defeat a consent use as effectively as a refusal — and they are the reason a straightforward application occasionally turns into two.
The same five phases as a rezoning, run at a smaller scale — and ending not with a new zoning but with a set of conditions you have to keep to.
Whether the scheme lists the use under your zoning, and whether the title deed permits it. Both have to be yes.
The motivation, site plan and operating particulars are prepared, with likely objections answered inside the submission.
Notice is given as the by-law requires. Adjoining owners are the ones most likely to comment on a consent use.
Granted subject to conditions where unopposed, or referred to the Municipal Planning Tribunal where valid objections are received.
Parking, hours, scale and screening are complied with. The consent operates for as long as they are kept to, and no longer.
| Consent use | Typical duration | Decided by |
|---|---|---|
| Unopposed | 4–6 months | Authorised official |
| Opposed or referred | 6–12 months | Municipal Planning Tribunal |
| Rezoning, for comparison | 6–9 months | Authorised official or Tribunal |
Consistently the least costly of the land use applications, and usually a fraction of a rezoning. Four things move the figure.
The single largest variable. An unopposed consent is decided by an official; an opposed one goes to the Tribunal, with a hearing and expert evidence.
Where the site plan needs bays, turning, screening or a second access drawn and later built, that is design and construction cost beyond the application.
A restriction limiting the property to a single dwelling or to residential use has to be removed separately. That is a second application.
The lodgement fee, notice in the press and Provincial Gazette, and registered letters to adjoining owners are payable in addition.
Budget for the conditions as well as the application. A consent granted subject to parking bays, screening or an upgraded access carries a cost that arrives after the approval, and a consent that is never given effect can lapse. We set out what the conditions are likely to require before you commit to the route.
A consent use is often not the only application a property needs. These four are the ones most often lodged with it, before it, or instead of it.
What homeowners, operators and buyers ask us most often about consent uses.
Send us the erf number and what you intend to operate.
Send us the erf number and what you intend to operate. We will tell you whether the scheme allows it by consent, whether the title deed permits it, and what conditions the municipality is likely to attach. Initial consultations carry no obligation.
35 Fricker Road, Illovo, Sandton · Consent use applications across the Gauteng City-Region