Building line relaxation in Gauteng

A building line is the distance a building must keep from a boundary. To build inside it, you need the council to relax it first, and building plans showing a building inside a building line cannot be approved without that relaxation.

The neighbours: notice, not consent

In Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni the neighbours are notified and may object; their written consent is not what the law requires. The council decides.

Johannesburg

Section 20 of the city's Municipal Planning By-law, 2016:

• Who applies: the owner, or an agent with an original power of attorney (a company owner needs a resolution).
• Neighbours: a letter with the proposed plan goes to the adjoining owners who may be affected, by registered post or by hand. They have 14 days to object. You then file an affidavit that you notified them.
• Decision: an unopposed, complete application is decided within 30 days of the end of the administrative phase. Objections send it to the Municipal Planning Tribunal.
• Documents: the fee, owner details, title deed, bondholder's consent if bonded, zoning information, the proposed site plan showing the lines to be relaxed, with elevations, the roads authority's consent if a road building line is affected, and a motivation.
• Fee: R738 (2026/27).

Ekurhuleni

Section 62 of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management By-law, 2019, on form BLR-1:

• Who applies: all registered owners sign, or someone with a power of attorney.
• Neighbours: each adjoining owner is notified by registered post or by hand, with proof on the city's form, and has 28 days to object. Objections go to you for a reply, then the city decides. Appeals go to the Ekurhuleni Appeals Authority.
• Documents: BLR-1, the site or building plan, title deed, proof of notification and the fee. Lodge it with building control (with building plans) or city planning (without) at the Customer Care Centre.
• Fee: R290.46 for Residential 1 and 2 stands, R575.97 for Residential 3 and 4 and non-residential zonings (2026/27).

Tshwane

Under the Tshwane Land Use Scheme, 2024, the city may grant permission to relax street, side and rear building lines. On a southern boundary a relaxation may not go below 2 m. Some buildings need no relaxation at all: a single-storey garage, carport, laundry, storeroom or pool may sit in the side or rear building line space (not next to a street) if it is at most 3 m high on the boundary and meets the scheme's other conditions. Walls, gates and open porches up to 2.1 m may also encroach. None of these exceptions applies on the southern boundary of the stand, where a relaxation is always needed.

We could not read Tshwane's application procedure (its guide document would not download). The 2025/26 fee was R550 or R1 100 depending on the size of the erf; the gazette table was hard to read, so confirm the amount.

Who prepares it

Johannesburg's and Ekurhuleni's by-laws let the owner apply. In practice a town planner or the professional drawing your plans often prepares it.

Questions people ask