Tenants evicted from property

Tenants of an Edenvale property were left stranded after being evicted from the property on Republic Road.

On November 10, tenants were evicted. A Sheriff of the Court appointed by the court was present to ensure proceedings were followed.

An inspector from town planning was also present and said the tenants were given notice to leave in 2014.

“The tenants were asked to move last year already. In April 2015 they had asked for an extension period, however they have not made arrangements to move during that period,” said the inspector.

Mr Chris Baraka, a tenant on the property, said he was unsure about what’s happening and that he had paid rent in the week.

“In the morning we were told to remove our belongings from the premises. If they gave us a warning instead of putting us out we would have somewhere to go,” he said.

Mr Baraka’s concerns included not having money to pay rent somewhere else as he had already paid rent at the property he was evicted from.

According to the ward 18 councillor, Clr Heather Hart, the property owner built illegally and rented out the rooms illegally.

“The issue is one of illegal buildings resulting in illegal land use. Sadly, it is the tenants who now suffer the indignity of being evicted while it should be the owner or landlord who is prosecuted for knowingly and continually renting out rooms illegally,” said Clr Hart.

She said there are ways in which property owners may accommodate tenants, but they would have to apply for a boarding house permit.

“I believe the metro should in fact have applied for a demolition order. It is a fact that there is a scarcity of affordable rentals in Edenvale and this will not change in the foreseeable future as there is not much land available and not many investors are interested in this sector,” she said.

Clr Hart said many tenants she has spoken to who live in overcrowded properties and blocks of flats or in backyard rooms, have homes elsewhere.

However, she said many come to Edenvale in search of jobs, or have jobs, but due to prohibitive transport costs find it cheaper to rent a part of a room for R1 000 a month than travel to and from their homes each day.

“The metro has a responsibility to uphold the bylaws and both the owner and the tenants were aware that the rentals and shacks on this property were illegal,” said Clr Hart.