The City has, in the past, provided an opportunity for individuals who would like to reserve burial space next to a loved one to do so through a reservation permit system.

The City would therefore like to remind those who have reserved burial spaces for future use that these permits are only valid for a limited period of time, i.e. 5 or 10 years depending on the type of permit granted. After such time, the permit must be renewed. The onus is on the permit holder to come forward and renew their permit.

Due to a critical shortage of space in some of the City’s older cemeteries, no new burial reservation permits have been granted since 2007 and only applications for renewal were considered, upon application and payment. With the current shortage of vacant gravesites, the City needs to determine whether existing reservations are still required.

During a recent audit of reserved burial spaces, the City discovered that a number of reservations had already expired. There could be various reasons for this: families may have forgotten to renew their reservations, immigrated, chosen to bury their loved ones elsewhere, or decided upon cremation.

In order to renew a Grave Reservation Permit, the permit holder should please contact their local City Parks Cemetery booking office on the numbers below:

Northern District: 021 550 1052/3
Southern District: 021 710 9437
Central District: 021 929 4561/2
Eastern Cemetery: 021 900 1676 /1902/ 1659

Registered letters will be sent out to permit holders to confirm their reservations. If the City receives no response within 30 days of the registered letter, the permit will automatically lapse and the burial space will be reallocated for immediate use. If the permit holder decides not to continue with the reservation, the City requests that the Parks Cemetery booking office be notified in writing.