Municipal tariff increases for Tshwane residents came into effect at the beginning of July, the City of Tshwane said on Wednesday.

As a result, residents' monthly bills would be higher than in previous months, spokeswoman Nomasonto Ndlovu said in a statement.

She said property rates had gone up 12 percent, electricity tariffs 12 percent and water tariffs 10 percent.

The rates for waste water management and refuse removal had increased by 12 percent and 25 percent respectively.

The electricity rate increase for residential blocks, including flats and townhouses, was 11 percent.

Commercial, industrial and other residential tariffs would pay 12 percent more for electricity.

Ndlovu said there would be a 35 percent rebate on all residential properties, and a 100 percent rebate for registered indigents, pensioners and the physically and mentally disabled.

She said the first R15,000 of the market value of a residential property was excluded from the rate-able value. A further R35,000 reduction on market value would also be granted.

Ndlovu said some residents had been confused about their electricity bills since the introduction last year of Inclining Block Tariffs (IBT).

Under IBT, tariffs increased according to the amount of electricity used: the more electricity used, the more expensive it became.

"The objective of this tariff is to provide protection for lower consuming customers against high price increases," she said.

Ndlovu said the revenue generated through property rates funded services which benefited the community as a whole, such as the installation and maintenance of lighting, storm drainage, clinics and cemeteries.

It was also used to fund the municipality's administration.