The City of Cape Town will, as from Monday 1 July 2019, only accept online submissions of building plan and land use applications. Residents, government departments and professionals submitting development applications are reminded to register for the City’s online services, called e-Services, as soon as possible. Read more below:

Residents, government departments and professionals have been able to submit building plans and land use applications via the City’s e-Services portal since 2015 when the Development Application Management System (DAMS) was introduced.

The transition from paper to digital has been a long journey and the City’s Development Management Department set 1 July 2019 as the deadline for becoming fully digitised.

The department has, over the past few months, prepared and trained City officials, set up public workstations, and communicated with applicants and the public to ensure the transition happens as efficiently as possible.

The department, along with officials from the City’s Revenue Office, will be hosting an e-Services registration drive on 27 June 2019 and 4 July 2019. Booking is essential and those interested are requested to please contact the department at Planning.BuildingManagement@capetown.gov.za to secure their spot. Interested parties will be informed about the supporting documentation required in order to register and to create a profile when they book.

‘We must embrace the digital information age and the advantages that this technology offers us to become a smarter, faster and a more forward-thinking and competitive City. Thus, as of Monday 1 July 2019 district office counters will be replaced by the City’s e-Services portal,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.

Submitting applications via the City’s online portal has many benefits for applicants:

Submissions can be made 24/7, thus, there are no restrictive office hours

Submissions can be made from anywhere in the world, be it from your study or another country

There is no need to commute or drive to a district office to submit an application by hand

There is no queuing or scanning of documents

It is paperless and helps to save our planet

Applicants can monitor and track the progress/status of their applications at any time from any place

It enables instant electronic communication between the City and the applicant during the assessment process

‘Many residents have already made the transition from manual to online. Currently, up to 72% of building plan applications and 66% of land use applications are submitted through the City’s e-Services portal. We’re now requesting other applicants to also make the switch,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.

The drive to become 100% digitised will not exclude those without internet access.

‘Each one of the City’s district planning offices have workstations available for public use. Officials will also be able to assist residents to register for e-Services and to use City resources to access e-Services for the submission of applications. Nobody will be excluded. I encourage residents and professionals to make use of the registration drive to get registered,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.

Source: City Of Cape Town