Joburg landlord faces bankruptcy after R2.9m water bill dispute

From a normal account to astronomical charges

Bot rents out a house in Dainfern and relies on the property income to support her family. In July 2023 her water charge was R1,334. By the end of August that year the account jumped to R454,192 after a recorded consumption of nearly 6,000 kilolitres for the month.

The high readings continued for several months, fluctuating between 1,420kl and 5,965kl, producing bills that averaged roughly a quarter of a million rand each month. Then, from June 2024, consumption readings returned to typical residential levels of between 10kl and 35kl per month.

Experts question the readings

Independent experts consulted by Bot challenged the likelihood of such high residential usage. Simon Bird of SAB Plumbing said that on a 1,000-square-metre stand the recorded volume of almost six million litres in one month would have produced visible signs such as swampy ground or wet walls, none of which were found.

An engineer engaged by Bot concluded the case was “clearly a case of either water meter failure, incorrect reading of the water meter and/or… miscalculation by the administrator of the water bill invoices”.

City of Johannesburg response and tests

Johannesburg Water has maintained that the excessive consumption was caused by an “internal leak” on the property and has placed responsibility on Bot. The utility said a request to adjust the account had not been processed because there was “high consumption” between 21 March 2023 and 16 April 2024 that had not been fixed by a Johannesburg Water technical team.

Bot commissioned investigations. In February 2024 a minor repair to a small pipe connector was made, but the extreme readings persisted. In May 2024 Alpha Plumbing carried out a high-pressure gas test and certified the “absolute absence of any active leaks” on the property. At one point Bot paid the City for a meter test, but she says the test never took place.

Dispute process, payment demand and allegations

The City has required a 50% upfront payment before engaging in formal dispute resolution. Johannesburg Water told GroundUp that because the internal leak had not been fixed by its technical team the account could not be adjusted.

Bot says she has pursued dozens of visits to Johannesburg Water offices, met with lawyers, councillors and MPs, and written to the Johannesburg Ombudsman. She also alleges that Johannesburg Water officials suggested it would be “very expensive” but that they could make the bill “go away”.

Financial and personal toll

Repeated service disconnections during the dispute led tenants to cancel their lease, cutting off the rental income Bot depends on. This prompted a final demand from her bank and a letter from a lawyer threatening liquidation. Bot obtained a court interdict in 2024 to prevent disconnections, but she says subcontracted disconnections have continued and the order has not been honoured.

“I honestly feel like I’m in a nightmare,” Bot told GroundUp. “It’s too much stress.”

Context on billing errors

The article notes that Johannesburg has a history of faulty meter readings, particularly following the 2008 Project Phakama centralisation, and that errors have arisen where households were billed for extended periods based on estimates rather than physical readings.

Bot’s case remains unresolved, with conflicting conclusions between independent experts who found no active leaks and the City, which attributes the high consumption to an internal leak and has not adjusted the account while the dispute continues.