Residents in Jeppestown and Yeoville are concerned about the abandoned and hijacked buildings in the areas.
Residents believe this contributes to an increase in crime.
These buildings are occupied by people who call these properties their home, often without proper property management and not knowing who owns the building. On September 29, a building which was illegally occupied in Jeppestown, burnt down.
People were evicted by the new owners.
The City of Joburg (CoJ) has since said it is not in a position to comment.
“We are not in a position to comment since we do not know which buildings are referred to as ‘abandoned’ and whether they do belong to the City. It is important to obtain the relevant details of the buildings so the story of such buildings can be told from the circumstances of such buildings. We would require addresses, erf descriptions and street corner descriptions so we can check the details. Regard hijacked buildings in common law, it is considered trespassing where a person enters a property or building belonging to another without a letter of permission. In this case, it remains the responsibility of the owner to evict the illegal occupiers,” said the CoJ’s spokesperson, Mr Nthatisi Modingoane.
Mr Modingoane said if a building is illegally occupied, there are health and other bylaws which govern health, urban and environment management, as well as the planning aspects of buildings, including those privately owned.
“Non-compliance with the law exposes the owner to prosecution. The CoJ has also introduced a Problem Properties Bylaw (PPB) to effectively deal with properties that do not comply with existing legislation on health, fire, town planning and building control regulations,” said Mr Modingoane.
People who are living next to abandoned buildings need to report the building to the CoJ.
The city has a dedicated office working to address the issues of hijacked and problematic buildings in the city.
Work is done in conjunction with other internal city departments, such as health, emergency services, development planning, housing, inner-city property scheme and social development.
“These internal departments focus mainly on bylaw interventions to ensure compliance. The department also works with external stakeholders, being the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit, the SAPS (Hawks) and Home Affairs (immigration) to tackle issues of crime within the properties,” said Mr Modingoane.
To report an abandoned or problematic building, visit the office at Traduna Building, 118 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein.
