The City of Johannesburg’s finances are in disarray, with former homeowners still receiving municipal bills months after selling their properties, according to a law firm and the city’s own documents. Yet, the city claims a 98% billing accuracy rate.
Billing Errors Persist Despite Transfer
Cor van Deventer, director at law firm Van Deventer Dowlath & Marx, says former homeowners across Johannesburg are receiving monthly municipal bills long after they have moved out, sometimes accompanied by threats of disconnection or notices of “illegal” meters they never installed.
“These post-transfer billing errors are no longer rare anomalies – they’ve become a recurring pattern that’s exposing sellers to financial risk even after they have legally severed ties with the property,” van Deventer said in a statement this week.
Delays and mismatched records within the city’s systems result in accounts remaining active after properties have changed hands. In some cases, the transfer is recorded in one department but not reflected across the city’s systems.
City Acknowledges Revenue Erosion
The city’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for 2026/27 warns that its revenue base has been eroded by several factors, including “billing system failures.” It adds that “no other pillar matters if this one fails.”
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Executive deputy mayor and finance MMC Loyiso Masuku acknowledged pressure on the city’s revenue base after its collection rate fell to 86% from 88.6%, partly due to billing inefficiencies and revenue leakages.
The Auditor-General of South Africa has flagged that 76% of money owed to the CoJ is unlikely to be recovered. Gross unpaid bills owed to Johannesburg have risen from about R15 billion in 2014/15 to nearly R72 billion in 2024/25 – an increase of almost 17% a year for more than a decade, according to the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE).
“The city has become dangerously disconnected from financial reality,” said Ann Bernstein, executive director of CDE.
City’s Efforts to Address Billing Issues
The CoJ admits that “missing customer records” and ineffective payment arrangements are impacting debt recovery. The city’s audit status has gone backwards, with revenue collection and billing system accuracy remaining priority areas.
Mayor Dada Morero writes in the annual report that the city is “actively pursuing improvements” in these areas as part of its broader financial recovery and stabilisation agenda.