Property owners with unpaid municipal bills will not be able to buy property elsewhere until they have settled the debt. The SA Local Government Association, which represents 278 municipalities, wants the government to establish a central database of residential and business property owners in arrears for rates and municipal services.People listed on the database as being in arrears would be denied a municipal clearance certificate.Clearance certificates are necessary for individuals and companies to be able to interact with municipalities countrywide.The database would be accessible to all municipalities.The association also wants section 118(b) of the Municipal Systems Act "to be amended to remove the two years prescription for payment of outstanding municipal debt in order to issue a municipal clearance certificate".This means that any municipal debt older than two years would have to be paid by the prospective seller of a property.Municipalities are buckling under financial strain. They are owed R105-billion - with government departments and other state entities owing R5.2-billion, business R22.7-billion, households R56-billion, and other ratepayers R10.1-billion.While Salga tries to change the law, the City of Johannesburg has enlisted a specialist firm of attorneys and consultants to recoup R1.82-billion in debt not settled when properties changed ownership.Stanley Maphologela, spokes-man for the city's group finance division, said a new debt-collection process would be put in place."After the clearance figures are issued, our firm will contact the relevant transferring attorneys or sheriffs advising them of the outstanding amounts."If payment is not effected, the city will apply to the High Court for immediate relief."Maphologela advised prospective property buyers to insist that sellers settle municipal debts in full."In order to avoid any future disputes, we advise that all estate agents and transfer attorneys educate buyers to amend their offer-to-purchase to state that the seller shall on demand pay all debts to the municipality before or on registration of the transfer," he said.Tommy Nel, head of credit at FNB home loans, said: "It is not clear how this would change the current property transfer process."As things stand the seller is required to have a clearance certificate from municipalities and the relevant home owners associations to facilitate transfer to the new owner. Without this, transfer cannot be effected."It is not clear to us how what is being proposed is different to the current practice.President Jacob Zuma has told state departments and entities to display the same vigour in paying their debts to municipalities as in demanding their dues from them...