A number of communal homes in Barry Hertzog Park face the possibility of being shut down and tenants evicted.
Ward 5 Councillor, Lindiwe Khoza, said a policy was currently being implemented which would see the municipality closing communal homes not complying to the law.
This may come as a sigh of relief for many Barry Hertzog Park residents, who have been facing continuous problems with the tenants of the homes.
Recently in Piet Retief Avenue, tenants from a communal home were allegedly involved in a fight which left the street covered in a layer of broken glass.
“It was about 2am on Saturday, April 30, when we heard shouting in the street. When we looked outside, we saw people from a neighbouring communal home throwing bottles at people in a car,” said a resident, who wished to remain anonymous.
Apparently, the occupants of the vehicle were also throwing bottles at the tenants.
“It was a black VW and its occupants and the tenants were just throwing bottles at each other and were getting rather verbal and aggressive. After a while, the car sped off and returned shortly afterwards. The occupants climbed out of the car, went into the yard where the tenants of the communal home lived, and beat them up,” the resident added.
Another resident said after the altercation, residents living in the area were forced to sweep the street and sidewalks.
“This is totally unacceptable! There are people who have been living here their entire lives, or have just purchased a home here, and we have to deal with this kind of behavior. It’s not safe here at all and our children can’t even play outside anymore. Something needs to be done.”
“If nothing gets done soon, residents will eventually take matters into their own hands. After all, if they can be violent in the streets, what is stopping them from coming in our yards, killing our pets and breaking into our homes?”
