The horrible state of house 10A
WESTDENE – Tenants become landlords and make money from a hijacked building without water and electricity.
A hijacked 60-room residence in 2nd Avenue in Westdene is in a shocking state.
Upon arrival at the building, one can find a group of young men who all claim to be the owners of the house.
Strangely enough, they all refused to give us their names and contacts for references.
After pretending to be looking for accommodation, one young man said the process of owning a room in the house was easy and tried to argue that everything was genuine.
“We have rooms available and there is no paper work. What you should do is give me R1 800 and move in immediately,” said one man.
He said all the tenants who could afford to pay the amount were permanently owning those rooms.
“This is a once-off rent, after paying, you also qualify to rent out the room if you want,” he said.
According to one resident, there are over 100 families illegally squatting in the premises with no electricity and no running water.
“Nobody pays electricity and water, so they had to connect illegally,” said a resident who cannot be named.
The sewers are blocked so human waste is dumped in plastic bags in the street.
Another resident said this has been going on for over two years since the owner of the house relocated to Iran.
“He left some of his tenants in the house who have now became the landlords as well.”
A third resident said “a lot is happening” in the house, and it has become a place where criminals hide.
“After housebreakings, smash-and-grabs and other robberies, they run straight to the house,” said the resident.
Ward 69 Councillor Katja Naumann said this problem has been reported numerous times and inspections have been carried out by the relevant officials.
Councillor Naumann added,”The unsanitary conditions are of grave concern to me and I find it a crime against all property owners in the area that the City of Joburg is unable to improve and contain this problem.”
She said that the City is making little or no progress in fighting vagrancy, illegal accommodation businesses and overcrowding.
“Until such cases can be prosecuted in the local magistrates’ court and suitably steep fines issued, building owners will continue to laugh off the fines, inspectors and JMPD,” she concluded.
Related article
Residents object to six-storey building
