Service delivery is still a concern for residents living in Bertrams council flats.
Tucker House residents feel they have been left to rot for the past 10 years.
The EXPRESS visited the council flats and spoke to Bernard Gouws, a resident who has been living in the flats for over eight years.
He said it was unpleasant to live in a building that is not been maintained.
“Ever since I moved into the building I have never seen any maintenance taking place. If something breaks you fix it yourself. There is no security and no one seems to care, but we are expected to pay rent,” said Gouws.
He said residents did not receive any assistance when they visit the caretaker’s office.
“The flats have a list of problems that needs the municipality’s attention. There are people living in the basement and boiler rooms of the building. The grass is overgrown, the drains are blocked and the general condition of the building is deteriorating.”
He added that residents are concerned about their health and safety.
Gouws said the children have no place to play because the play area is not clean.
Also read: Comments needed on the amendment to vehicle licence fees
“Safety is a major concern as we have people who are involved in illegal activities on the premises.”
He said these concerns have been raised with the relevant people including the City of Joburg’s executive mayor, Clr Herman Mashaba who visited the flats with his team.
“He promised to look into the matter,” said Gouws, adding that the residents are at the point of wanting to take matters into their own hands to try to fix their homes.
“We have not received any assistance from the city. We have to identify ways to try and make our homes safe and spend money from our own pockets,” said Gouws.
“All we ask for now is to have title deeds so we can fix our own homes. That way we will not ask the city to maintain our homes.”
Also read: Indlulamithi project receives praise from JDA
Stakeholder liaison manager of housing at CoJ Willington Simelane said the maintenance and upkeep of council flats are a shared responsibility between the council and the tenants.
“The city is mainly responsible for structural maintenance while the residents are responsible for interior maintenance including items such as doors, windows, taps, geysers, toilets, lights and other small items,” said Simelane.
He said there are rules and conditions for maintenance.
“The CoJ embarked on austerity measures during the mid-1990s and this resulted in repairs being limited to emergency repairs only. This basis for expenditure on repairs and maintenance has never been adjusted upwards.”
“One of the factors contributing to the low base for expenditure on repairs and maintenance is the failure by the residents to pay the required rent, even though the CoJ rentals are very low compared to rentals in the open property market,” said Simelane.
“A number of alternative solutions are being investigated at present,” he said.
“Attempts were made in the past to offer the residents temporary alternative accommodation at the Wembley Stadium in Turffontein as an emergency accommodation facility. However, this offer was turned down by the residents who simply refused to consider the option.”
He said initiatives were underway to extend temporary emergency accommodation facilities to assist people in need of accommodation and who are currently housed under less than ideal circumstances.
“It should be noted that the transfer of ownership of certain properties within the property portfolio of the CoJ is a gradual process through which a number of properties are transferred each year,” said Simelane in response to questions about title deeds.
He said the process is complicated by residents who have already received title deeds wanting CoJ to continue with maintenance on their properties.
“It should be noted however that the transfer of title deeds has received a priority status with the new administration. The issue is not the duration of tenancy, but rather whether the CoJ has earmarked a specific property or properties for transfer into private ownership or not,” said Simelane.
