MMC Flora Monama says the building will be demolished when the City of Tshwane has the finances to do so.
City of Tshwane officials carried out an eviction order at a building they said was illegal on 6 October 2026. Picture: Marizka Coetzer
Tenants of an illegally constructed building of flats in Pretoria West watched their lives unravel in minutes as city officials carried out a swift eviction order.
On Tuesday morning, City of Tshwane officials visited a property on Kiepersol Street where an illegal block of 25 flats had been built at the back.
Along with the 25 units, which the landlord allegedly rented out for about R2 400 each, the unfinished building boasted an unfinished staircase.
City says tenants were warned
MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Flora Monama, said the city has visited the property several times to warn tenants that the building was illegal.
“We were here last week, and we warned them that we would be coming back again, but they are still here. Now it looks bad that we are evicting them, but they could have left last week when we were here,” she said.
“They owed the city over R41 000, but we are sure they are consuming more than that because some of the units did not have any meters to read the usage.”
‘We’re going to make this place uninhabitable’
Monama explained that along with the eviction order, the city will make sure the property is not fit to live in.
“But we are evicting today. The land invasion will come here and make this place uninhabitable by taking out the frames, the windows, the ceilings, everything that can be removed. So even if they want to come back, they can’t; no one can stay in a place that has no windows, no door or ceiling,” she said.
“Looking at the finances of the city, we don’t have a budget reserved for demolitions. When we get the money, we will come and demolish this place.”
Resident says ‘we were not aware’
One of the evicted residents was in tears while members of the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) carried out the tenants’ belongings and placed them in a heap on the pavement.
“They phoned us at work to come and fetch our stuff. We were not aware of anything, and I have been living here for over a year with my husband and our two kids. When the municipality came to switch off the power the last time, the landlord sent us a message to ensure it was an error on the municipality’s side and that everything was under control,” she said, asking to remain anonymous.
She said that they had already started moving on Monday after being without power for a week.
“We were going to fetch the rest of our stuff after work, but they beat us to it,” she added.
Bylaws enforced at businesses
In the CBD, Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya was out with teams targeting illicit trading by enforcing bylaws and issuing fines.
Businesses inspected on the day included Pretoria Cash and Carry and Ali’s Electronics, where illegal water and electricity connections were disconnected, and business registrations were verified.
“We’ve added partnerships to strengthen our enforcement capabilities. We are joined by NRCS, an entity of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. The entity is responsible for administering compulsory specifications and regulations with the objective of protecting human health, safety and fair-trading rights. We are also joined by Saps and various departments from Tshwane: health inspectors, finance and business compliance,” she said.
