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An operation in Sunnyside and Arcadia found apartment blocks with two bedroom units split into five bedrooms.
Picture: iStock
An operation consisting of law enforcement, private security and city officials was held on Thursday night in Tshwane to crack down on illegally partitioned apartment blocks.
Teams inspected multiple buildings and a warning was issued to owners and landlords to rectify the situation or face having the buildings cleared out.
Exploitative landlords
Sunnyside, Arcadia and the surrounding suburbs in Pretoria are hotspots for illegally partitioned apartment blocks.
In these apartment blocks, units are subdivided to double or sometimes triple the number of rentable spaces.
“During the operation, our teams discovered multiple private flats that had been illegally partitioned, transforming originally approved two-bedroom units into cramped five-bedroom spaces,” said housing and human settlements MMC Aaron Maluleka.
Landlords made these alterations without official approval, creating dangerous living spaces in order to maximise their profits.
“Landlords are exploiting the high demand for affordable housing by charging exorbitant rent between R2 000 and R2 500 per space while ignoring critical safety regulations,” Maluleka said.
The city says these buildings are structurally compromised and a “ticking time bomb for potential disasters” which could be easily preventable.
Compliance warning
Tshwane has also clamped down on non-compliant businesses who operate without licences or in contravention of their permit allowances.
The city has warned landlords that these practices will not be tolerated and demanded that illegally partitioned buildings be restored to their approved layouts.
All alterations must comply with all municipal by-laws, occupancy limits and safety standards and must be approved by building control and the fire department.
Municipal officials will be scouring the targeted areas in the coming weeks to ensure landlords are meeting their obligations.
“Failure to adhere to these directives will result in swift legal action, including fines, forced evacuations and the condemnation of non-compliant buildings,” Maluleka said.
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