According to an analysis of the 2024/2025 draft budgets tabled by each of South Africa’s metros, the City of Cape Town charges the lowest property rates for commercial, industrial, and residential properties.

The cent-in-rand rate is a statutory formula used by municipalities to calculate property rates. The formula shows how much a property owner would pay in rates for every rand of their asset’s value.

The City’s property rates are lower than the next metro (Johannesburg) by 32% for commercial, 36% for industrial, and 28% for residential.

“Cape Town has a simple message for owners of businesses, large and small: move your business to Cape Town for SA’s best property rates, reliable service delivery and infrastructure, and the most advanced plans to end load-shedding,” notes Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

The municipality has stated that it will invest more in infrastructure than all three Gauteng metros combined over the coming three-year medium-term budget framework (R39.7 billion versus a combined R38.5 billion) with its three-year infrastructure budget 80% larger than the next metro (Johannesburg – R22 billion) and 98% larger than the third biggest, eThekwini (R20 billion).

2024 – 2025 Cent in Rand (Residentia

Cape Town – 0.006631

Johannesburg – 0.009213

Mangaung – 0.010602

Ekurhuleni – 0.011520

Tshwane – 0.012200

eThekwini – 0.013619

Buffalo City – 0.015000

2024 – 2025 Cent in Rand (Commercial)

Cape Town – 0.015582

Johannesburg – 0.023033

Ekurhuleni – 0.023050

Tshwane – 0.030510

eThekwini – 0.034650

Mangaung – 0.036056

Buffalo City – 0.037400

2024 – 2025 Cent in Rand (Industrial)

Cape Town – 0.014742

Johannesburg – 0.023033

Ekurhuleni – 0.028810

Tshwane – 0.030510

Mangaung – 0.036056

Buffalo City – 0.037400

eThekwini – 0.044576

*Nelson Mandela Bay 2024/25 formulas unavailable at the time of writing. NMB 2023/24 formulas: Residential (0.012073), Commercial (0.024146), Industrial (0.030183).