Dispute Your Municipal Bill
Wrong electricity, water or rates bill? Fill in a dispute letter template that you check and send yourself, see where to send it, and check your meter readings for an estimated-bill catch-up. Free, with contact details for City of Johannesburg (including City Power and Joburg Water), City of Tshwane, City of Ekurhuleni and City of Cape Town.
Private: this tool builds the letter in your browser. It does not send or save what you type. Close the page and it is gone.
General information, not legal advice. OurPower is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. The letter below is a template: you check it, change what does not fit your situation, and send it yourself. For advice about your situation, speak to an attorney, Legal Aid South Africa or the municipal Ombudsman (where your municipality has one).
1. Your details
Your City Power electricity and Joburg Water charges appear on your City of Johannesburg account, so you dispute them with the City.
2. Your letter template
Read it before you send it and change anything that is not right for your account. You send it yourself; OurPower does not send it for you.
- Add the account holder's name.
- Add your account number.
- Add the property address.
- Add the amount you are disputing. Section 102(2) refers to a dispute about a specific amount.
Dated today. To make a PDF, choose Print and then Save as PDF.
Where to send it: City of Johannesburg
Step 1. Lodge the dispute
- Joburg Connect (phone): 0860 562 874
- Joburg Connect (email): joburgconnect@joburg.org.za
- In person: Any regional customer service centre. Take a copy of your latest account.
Quote your account number and ask for a reference number. If the system is offline, ask for a manual reference number and note the consultant's name and the time.
Step 2. Appeal to the municipal manager
If the City decides against you, the Act says (section 62(1)) you may appeal by giving written notice of the appeal and reasons to the Municipal Manager within 21 days of the date of the notification of the decision. The City's own credit control by-law or policy may set its own dispute and appeal steps and time limits, so check those too, and check the City's website or your bill for where to deliver an appeal.
Step 3. Ombudsman
City of Johannesburg Ombudsman. Use this after you have logged the dispute with the City, kept the reference number and the City has not resolved it.
- Email: complaints@joburgombudsman.org.za
- Helpdesk: 010 288 2800
Step 4. Public Protector
If the municipality and the ombudsman do not sort it out, you can complain to the Public Protector. Check their website for how to lodge a complaint.
Contact details are taken from the municipality's own website, last checked 2026-10-29. Source page. They can change, so confirm on your bill or the municipality's website.
What to do next
- Pay the part of the bill you do not dispute, on time, and keep the proof of payment.
- Send the letter by email or hand it in, and keep proof: the sent email, a stamped copy, or a delivery receipt.
- Ask for a reference number. Write down the date, the name of the person you spoke to and the reference.
- Attach a copy of the account and, for meter problems, a dated photo of the meter showing the number and reading.
- Diarise a follow-up date. Your municipality's credit control policy may say how long it has to reply. If you have no written outcome, follow up quoting the reference number and use the escalation steps below.
- If supply is cut while the dispute is open, you can send proof of your dispute and ask in writing for reconnection, then use the escalation steps below. For advice about your situation, speak to an attorney or Legal Aid South Africa.
Check your meter readings
Enter 2 to 6 readings in a row from your bills, oldest first, and mark each as actual or estimated as the bill says. Works for electricity (kWh) or water (kl). This checker does not send or save what you type.
What the Municipal Systems Act says about billing disputes
Section 102. Section 102(1) of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 lets a municipality consolidate a person's separate accounts, credit a payment against any of that person's accounts, and implement debt collection and credit control measures in relation to arrears on any of them. Section 102(2) then says: "Subsection (1) does not apply where there is a dispute between the municipality and a person referred to in that subsection concerning any specific amount claimed by the municipality from that person."
A specific amount. The Act's words are "any specific amount claimed". Attorneys who write on this (for example Schindlers Attorneys) say a dispute should identify the account and the amount or item, and say why it is wrong, and that a bare complaint that a bill is too high, or a refusal to pay, is not enough. Your municipality's credit control by-law or policy may also say how a dispute must be lodged.
The rest of the bill. Section 102(2) refers to the specific amount in dispute. On its wording it does not cover the rest of the account.
Proof of sending. An email with a sent copy, or a stamped copy or reference number for a letter handed in, is a record of when the dispute was raised.
Appeals (section 62). The Act says a person whose rights are affected by a decision taken under delegated power may appeal "by giving written notice of the appeal and reasons to the municipal manager within 21 days of the date of the notification of the decision" (section 62(1)), and that the appeal authority "must commence with an appeal within six weeks and decide the appeal within a reasonable period" (section 62(5)). Section 62 does not replace other appeal procedures (section 62(6)), and your municipality's credit control by-law or policy may set its own steps and time limits, so check those too. After that come the ombudsman (Johannesburg and Cape Town have one) and the Public Protector.
Where the law comes from. The quoted wording is from the Municipal Systems Act as published on gov.za. We checked on 3 November 2026 that the Municipal Systems Amendment Act 3 of 2022 does not change sections 62, 95 or 102. Other details can change, so check the current text if it matters to you.
General information, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, speak to an attorney, Legal Aid South Africa or the municipal Ombudsman (where your municipality has one).
Common questions
Can the municipality cut me off while I am disputing my bill?
The Municipal Systems Act says, in section 102(2): "Subsection (1) does not apply where there is a dispute between the municipality and a person referred to in that subsection concerning any specific amount claimed by the municipality from that person." Subsection (1) is the power to consolidate accounts, apply payments to any account and take debt collection and credit control measures on arrears. Whether a particular complaint counts as such a dispute depends on the facts and on the municipality's credit control by-law or policy. For advice about your situation, speak to an attorney, Legal Aid South Africa or the municipal Ombudsman where there is one.
Should I keep paying while I dispute?
Section 102(2) refers to a dispute about a specific amount, so on its wording it does not cover the rest of the bill. Charges you do not dispute and do not pay can still lead to credit control under the municipality's policy.
What if they cut me off anyway?
You can send your dispute letter and proof that you sent it, ask for reconnection in writing, and escalate: the municipal manager, the ombudsman where one exists, and the Public Protector. For advice about your situation, including when supply is needed back urgently, speak to an attorney or Legal Aid South Africa.
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