Contravention happens when a property owner illegally uses his/her land or property for other purposes than what the zoning rights allow on the subject property. For instance, a property that is zoned as Residential 1 should be used for a family dwelling house only and not for business-related uses such as a commune or guest house.
Consent use approval should be obtained in order to operate a legal land use in terms of zoning regulations. A town planner can be appointed to assist property owners in this regard.

How the City of Tshwane deals with contraventions
Upon receipt of a complaint, the City will assign a development compliance officer to investigate the alleged contravention.
If a contravention is confirmed, a contravention notice is served on the owner to cease all illegal activity within 28 days.
The matter is then passed to the Municipal Courts of the City of Tshwane to take legal action to force the property owner to cease the illegal activity or to comply with the zoning regulations.
Contraveners of a land use or town-planning scheme can be charged with breaking the Property Rates Policy or according to the City’s applicable by-laws.

What is a contravention notice?
A contravention notice is a notice served by the City on a property owner or an individual who has committed a contravention in terms of the land use or town-planning scheme of the City of Tshwane.

How to report town-planning scheme contraventions
In order to bring a suspected land use or town planning contravention to the attention of the City of Tshwane (Built Environment and Enforcement Inspectorate Section) for investigation, residents must provide the following:
• The erf number and/or street address of the contravening property
• The suburb where the contravening property is located
• A short description of the contravention
The information must be sent to landusecontraventions@tshwane.gov.za

Land use contraventions can be reported anonymously if the complainant does not want his/her identity revealed.

All valid complaints will be dealt with in terms of an established law enforcement process.