It is unclear whether municipalities in the City of Tshwane and Johannesburg would be prepared to pay back funds paid by home owners towards previous home owners’ debt.
This after the Constitutional Court upheld an order that new owners should not be inheriting the municipal debt of their predecessors.
Addressing a press conference in Johannesburg shortly after the ruling was delivered‚ Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga said they were yet to study the order and pave a way forward.
The Constitutional Court declared that upon transfer of a property‚ a new owner is not liable for previous debts under section 118(3) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act.
“For once‚ we now have a clarity on the matter. That is very clear and it was never clear before‚” said Msimanga.
One Johannesburg couple on Tuesday told TimesLIVE that they were forced to pay R206‚000 of an erroneous municipal account dating back to 2010.
The couple said they had since been sent from pillar to post‚ trying to recoup the funds.
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