Change the Use Rights of your Property

You might have a great idea of what you want to do with your property or the property has potential, but to implement it you may first need to obtain the correct legal rights.

You may also, knowingly or without knowing, be using your property for a purpose for which it is not legally authorised and want to change its use rights in order to legalise the current use. 

This may require any one or more of the following applications:

a)      Having your property Rezoned

This will establish a permanent use right in terms of the applicable zoning scheme of the municipality in whose area of jurisdiction your property is located.  You may, for example, own property that is zoned for agricultural purposes and you may want to develop it for residential or business purposes.  In such circumstances a rezoning will be required.

 

b)      Obtain a Consent Use

In some cases you may apply for a consent use rather than to rezone the property to obtain the necessary rights you need for your intended use.  An application for a consent use may be lodged with the local authority if the proposed land use is not listed as a primary use in the applicable zoning scheme regulations, but is allowed for by way of the special consent of the local authority only.  BvZPlan can help you decide if this is the best route to follow, based on your specific circumstances.  In many scheme regulations provision is, for example, made for the operation of a guest house in a single residential zone by way of a special consent granted by the local authority.

 

c)       Apply for a Departure

This relates to an application to depart (permanently or for a specified period of time) from provisions of the zoning scheme regulations applicable to a specific property.  The application process is similar to that required for a rezoning application.  A permanent departure would typically be a relaxation of a building line, whilst a temporary departure (for say 5 years) may be granted for the use of a residential building for business purposes.  This may in a sense be regarded as a trial run to see if a business use can be allowed on a permanent basis by way of a rezoning.