I had a wendy house (storage shed) erected on my yard.  Before doing this, I asked the company who was selling these what the legal regulations were.  The reply was that ‘everybody have these storage rooms’, ‘they are temporary structures’ and ‘completely legal’.

Recently the City of Tshwane inspected my yard and issued me with a notice that I was contravening the National Building Regulations and Building StandardsAct, 1977 (Act 103 of 1977) by erecting a structure without the prior approval.  I was ordered to rectify the above matter within 21 days after receipt hereof by obtaining the necessary approval, in writing, from the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, or alternatively, to demolish such building.

The process to rectify the matter is to submit plans for approval of an extension to the property.  The total costs of such approval is more than R30 000.  It is ridiculous taking into account that the cost of the shed was R4000.

I want to challenge this law because I believe it is outdated and unconstitutional – I NEED HELP WITH THIS.  IS THIS POSSIBLE?  HOW DO I DO THIS?

The reason why I believe this law is outdated and unconstitutional is as follows:

The law was passed in 1977. During those years, there were ‘white neighbourhoods’ and ‘black neighbourhoods’. Different laws were applicable to different neighbourhoods.  Today, the concept of ‘white’ or ‘black’ neighbourhoods no longer exist and all people are regarded as equal. The law contains the following wording: ‘To provide for the promotion of uniformity in the law relating to the erection of buildings in the areas of jurisdiction of local authorities; for the prescribing of building standards; and for matters connected therewith.’ The way I understand this is that the same standards must apply UNIFORMLY to all areas of jurisdiction of the local authority. In 1977 the municipality had jurisdiction over the city of Pretoria, and this law was applicable to buildings erected in the city of Pretoria. After 1994, the ‘Municipality of Pretoria’ was replaced with ‘The City of Tshwane Municipality’.  The jurisdiction of the latter is much wider and include areas such as Atteridgeville, Ekangala, Eersterust, Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane, Mamelodi, Soshanguve, Rethabiseng and Zithobeni.  In these areas, the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act is not enforced and people are free to erect any structures without previous approval or expensive costs. There are thousands of these structures in Pretoria as well as the wider Tshwane jurisdiction. Yet, most of them are ignored by the council, only some ‘white’ areas are targeted.  This is unconstitutional and racist.

 CAN YOU HELP ME?