Student houses are issued legal notices by City
According to the City of Mbombela, over 40 properties that are being used as student accommodations, have been issued compliance notices.
There are currently 47 student establishments against which the City of Mbombela (CoM) is taking legal action, and 48 properties have been issued compliance notices to date.
The CoM’s spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, said the 48 student establishments have all ignored the compliance notices so far.
The matter of unlawful student housing recently arose again following an armed robbery at an illegal establishment in Giraffe Street, Ext 5, on April 16.
ALSO READ: Lowvelder thankful to be home after 17 days stranded in Sudan
Several complaints regarding this establishment’s legality were made to Lowvelder in the days following the robbery. The paper sent a query to the CoM, who confirmed that the owner of the residence, at the Giraffe Street property, was issued a compliance notice ”for running a student accommodation facility illegally without the necessary land use rights in place”.
”A compliance notice was issued on February 14 and lapsed on March 14. The owner was instructed to cease with unlawful activities within 30 days. The matter was referred to the legal services department for further legal action. At the moment, a letter of demand has been issued by the attorney representing the municipality,” said Ngala.
Lowvelder sent an email query and WhatsApp messages to the man believed to be the owner of the residence regarding the legality of the accommodation, however, there had been no response by the time of going to press.
ALSO READ: Crime and gridlocking unresolved at Lebombo Border
The University of Mpumalanga’s (UMP) spokesperson, Tlangelani Ubisi, said the accommodation in question in Giraffe Street is not a UMP-accredited private accommodation, and based on its records, no UMP student is staying there. ”The UMP has a transparent process of private accommodation accreditation.
Prospective service providers can apply for accreditation through our website, which stipulates the accreditation criteria and all supporting documents required,” said Ubisi. ”Once we have accredited a student accommodation, we make the list available to our students and also publish it on our website so that our students can choose the one they prefer.”
He said the UMP will not hesitate to take steps against a private accommodation service provider who claims to be a UMP-accredited one when they are not. He said the UMP is not the only higher learning institution in Mbombela, and the university does not have a mandate to monitor private student accommodation service providers not accredited by it.
ALSO READ: Determined mother gives birth to premature baby next to the R40 in Bushbuckridge
A DA councillor of Ward 17, Sanley van der Merwe, said she is aware of 11 student houses that are believed to be operating illegally within the ward. She said most of the alleged unlawful student establishments came to her attention as recently as February or March.
She said the issue was not directly with student houses, but rather opportunists looking to make a quick buck by operating accommodation for students as a business without following the correct processes.
Van der Merwe said several student residences in the City are indeed operating legally, followed due process set down by the City of Mbombela and the national guidelines for student housing.
