A protracted rental battle between the landlord and Fit24 Durban North came to an abrupt end on November 27 when the gym was evicted following what landlords claim was more than a year of rental and utilities arrears.

Mike Spark and Lara Kruger of Lambie Spark and Associates, who manage the building and oversee the interests of shareholder Bronze Amber Trading 16 PTY LTD, say the eviction marks the conclusion of an exhausting, months-long effort to enforce the lease terms.

“We’d been dealing with ongoing rental payment issues for more than a year,” said Spark.

“By January 2025 we were constantly asking them to pay the arrears but they didn’t. After giving Fit24 seven days to rectify, which they didn’t, we then notified them they are in breach of contract and cancelled the lease. We’d simply had enough.”

According to Spark, the tenancy began in 2019 when the operators of Go Health sold the gym business to Fit24. The landlords agreed to accommodate the transition.

“We effectively started from the beginning with them,” said Kruger. “There were issues with rental payments from the get-go but we accommodated them as it was during Covid. We gave rental rebates, we tried a lot of things to support the business. But we just couldn’t carry on,” she said.

Spark echoed the sentiment, saying the team made “every attempt to help them stabilise,” but the situation deteriorated steadily.

Spark and Kruger claim Fit24 attempted to drag out the eviction process. The gym’s sole defence was an allegation that they had been overcharged for electricity, an accusation the landlords say was never substantiated.

“This matter was dealt with extensively in the papers put before the court and the judge ruled accordingly and granted the eviction,” said Spark

“They couldn’t prove it. In the end, we had to appoint an advocate and take the matter to the High Court to obtain immediate eviction,” he added.

According to Spark and Kruger, the sheriff served the eviction order at 08:15 on 27 November.

“Fit24 lodged an appeal roughly 30 minutes later, but it was too late and it had not been lodged in the High Court by the time enforcement proceeded,” said Kruger.

During the standoff, the property managers say they converted the premises to prepaid electricity.

“We did this because we were not receiving any money for utilities but the bill was accumulating. That’s probably why there was no air-conditioning being used,” said Spark.

Spark estimates that arrears were approaching R5m, prompting both the eviction proceedings and a move toward the liquidation of Fit24 Durban North.

With Fit24 now removed from roughly 60% of the building, the landlords say they can breathe a sigh of relief.

“For us, it’s a huge relief that this has finally ended,” said Spark.

“Managing a property is one thing. Managing months of disputes, lawyers, breaches, and endless excuses is another. We’re relieved to be able to move forward,” added Kruger.

Gym-goers who have been left in the lurch after paying thousands of rands shared their experience with Northglen News.

Roshini Maharajh said she is livid with the situation as she had just renewed her contract at the Fit24 Durban North branch.

“A really good deal came up in October for a 12-month contract at a cost of R2 000. The start date was 1 December. There were only 10  vouchers available for this deal so I rushed to grab one and paid in full at the branch. Then I heard that the owners were evicted. I emailed to request a refund but all I received was an automatic response saying I could use the Oceans Mall branch. This is inconvenient for me and I would like a refund,” she said.

“I would like a full reimbursement but there’s no response from Fit24 besides automated emails,” added Maharajh.

Sushma Vallabh said she and her daughter, who has a mental health condition, joined the gym in July and paid R3500 for a 12-month contract for the both of them.

“When we heard about the eviction, naturally, we wanted a refund on the remainder of the contract. After emailing Fit24, we realised that only automated responses were being sent and that we were getting nowhere,” she said.

Vallabh said travelling to Oceans Mall was not an option for her and her daughter and it would be a challenge for her daughter to get accustomed to a new gym.

“She built a relationship with staff at the Durban North branch and learnt the layout. Going to gym for her was more for her mental health. Now, I don’t know what we are going to do but one thing is for sure – we want our money back,” she added.

She said she could see something was amiss as there would often be no airconditioning or water at the gym but she was always reassured that it was temporary and the issues would be resolved soon.

Others have expressed their anger on the Fit24 Facebook group.

I am highly frustrated that we just renewed our membership on Saturday 22nd November for another year at Fit24 Durban North and paid upfront

Taryn De Ladegourdie Stork: Please advise on reimbursement in full as my daughter has not even started attending gym yet

We were rushed to pay and complete membership in order to secure the deal now this has transpired

Please contact me to get details to reimburse my full years membership, as other branch is not an option as it is an inconvenience for us

Anusha Birijbal: They are an absolute bunch of thieves, I emailed cancelations, they ask for my proof of payment, when I sent that they simply replied that I must use the gym at Oceans Mall. They have a history of being thieves. I cannot get to Oceans Mall. I asked for a refund before 7 days, which their contract says is a cooling off period where you can cancel. Their consultants confidently sold these contracts, even demanded immediate eft payment, knowing what was going to happen.

Despite numerous telephonic attempts, Fit24 did not respond at the time of publishing.

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