Legal Articles

In March 2013, a new regulation was put in place concerning guest houses in the Western Cape area. The new Cape Town Zoning Scheme (CTZS) was enforced on 26 November 2012 and affects all guest houses as of March 2013.

Property Zoning in Cape Town

Firstly, it described what Zoning meant; the method of development management that designates property for a particular development or use category or zone.

Within each zone there are provisions and rules setting out the purposes a property may be used for, and the manner in which it may be developed.

These rules apply to land, buildings and structures and has an affect on everyone who owns a guest house in Cape Town or who is thinking about starting this kind of business.

The complex zoning program is subdivided into various zoning categories. And in the case of guest houses, the single residential zone (SR1) is important.

It includes locations for predominantly single-family dwelling houses in low and medium density neighborhoods, with a safe and pleasant living environment.

The owner of a dwelling home now has additional use rights. These use rights include home occupation, bed and breakfast and home childcare.

While the use rights include these additional activities, it is important to note that only one of them are allowed to be conducted on any land unit.

If a person wishes to use their premises for more than one activity, then they will need to obtain the approval of the Council.

The primary use of the property has to be a dwelling house for accommodation of a single family but 3 of the rooms can be rented out. The limit to numbers of guests 6 at most and no more than 3 employees can be working at any given time.

Despite the rooms and the beds, the guests have to be provided with meals as the guest rooms are not allowed to be used as self-catering dwelling units.

In order to advertise the guest house, owners are allowed to display a single un-illuminated sign which cannot exceed 0.5 qm in area.

Also a very important requirement is ample parking for guests so as not to encroach on neighbours and thus create an inconvenience in the process.

Consent Application

The owner of a dwelling home can aquire a Consent Application for running a guest house or a B&B by fulfilling these requirements. This is a permanent approval that is attached to the property, and not to the person that applied for the approval.

As soon as someone has the Consent Application, there is no need to apply for an extension of the guest house license.

The only time that the owner would need to make any sort of application regarding the guest house or the B&B would be if he wished to do something that went beyond what was set out in the conditions of approval for the property in question.

Van Deventers & Van Deventers Inc. - Attorneys Sandton

Contact us, for assistance with your property zoning.