Law-enforcement efforts against property owners contravening by-laws to intensify

The Department of Development Planning is set to enhance its law-enforcement efforts against residential and business property owners who are contravening the City’s by-laws and regulations.

Together with the Building Development Management directorate, the Development Planning’s Single Law Enforcement Unit will carry out law-enforcement operations, specifically targeting illegal structures constructed over the City’s servitudes, encroachment on pavements, illegal use of decommissioned City service properties and illegal building and land use activities on City-owned land.

Staff members from the department attended an extended meeting with the executive mayor, Mpho Phalatse, and MMC Belinda Echeozonjoku at the Brixton Multipurpose Centre on March 14.

Phalatse said by-laws exist to ensure a regulated and orderly built environment to equitably manage the relationship between people, society and spaces in which they live, work and play.

“Enforcement of the City’s by-laws requires people of integrity who reject the financial advances of crooked developers and construction companies who seek to cut corners and, in the process, put lives, livelihoods and potential investments in danger,” Phalatse added.

During the law-enforcement operations, contravening property owners found to have active building sites will be issued with 24-hour notices, where they will be required to immediately cease construction and demolish the illegal structures.

In cases where the structures are already completed and occupied, they will be taken through the required legal process for competent courts of law to issue court orders for demolitions.

Residents who fail to demolish the structures themselves, within the stipulated timeframe, will be held liable for the costs incurred by the City to execute those demolition orders.

Areas identified as hotspots for the above contraventions present a series of challenges, including sewerage blockages, dysfunctional stormwater drainage systems, power outages because of illegal connections and derelict buildings.

Echeozonjoku said continuous contraventions and a lack of compliance across Johannesburg burdens the system unnecessarily.

“Enhancing by-law enforcement across the City is not intended to punish residents, businesses and property owners alike – it is to promote and ensure compliance all-round. The City currently spends over R30m on litigation for planning law enforcement-related cases. This is money that can be channelled towards the department providing quality services to Joburg residents,” she said.

Echeozonjoku stated that the annual target for required demolitions of non-compliant buildings and structures would increase in the current financial year. She further encouraged property owners to familiarise themselves with the City’s by-laws.

“This will help in reducing the number of unsafe and dangerous buildings, including the impact of dilapidated and derelict buildings on property valuations. Residents and property owners are further urged to not contravene the City’s by-laws and regulations.

“Development planning officials working at our regional offices are available to educate and advise on building and land use compliance-related matters,” added Echeozonjoku.