INTRODUCTION
This article considers the legal obligation of municipalities when it comes to sending notices, letters of demand and court documents via e-mail, “snail mail” (ordinary post) and “certified” or “registered” mail. This is important to consumers of municipalities because if the municipality in question fails to serve properly in accordance with law, the demand may not be actionable thereafter by the municipality.
For example, it is trite (accepted) law that a municipality must give reasonable notice (normally considered as being 14 days) of its intention to terminate the electricity or water supply to a property, by serving a notice by hand at the property itself. This is in terms of the Constitutional Court judgment in the Joseph case. If a municipality disconnects a customer’s electricity and/or water supply without having first given appropriate notice, the disconnection is unlawful and a court will order that the supply be reconnected and that the municipality give appropriate notice.
NOTICES IN RELATION TO PROPERTY VALUATION ROLLS
Section 49 of the Local Government : Municipal Property Rates Act (“the Rates Act”) deals with how notices in relation to valuation rolls are to be posted. This Act stipulates that, when it comes to giving notice to consumers of the publication of a valuation roll, municipalities are permitted to send a notice to the affected consumers by ordinary post (“snail mail”). Customers need to be given notice of potential increases in the rates, so that they can budget to pay these increases.
