POLOKWANE – The property manager of the Ga-Rena Rental Village in Ladanna and the Seshego Rental Village, Abraham Makomoto says the legal costs of accommodating non-paying tenants outweighs the possibility of a payment arrangement.

A total of 88 tenants were evicted today by the Polokwane Housing Association for failure to pay rent and meet their lease agreements.

A total of 88 tenants were evicted from the Ga-Rena Rental Village earlier today by the Polokwane Housing Association for non-payment of rent. Property manager Abraham Makomoto said the tenants were evicted after exhausting all avenues to get what was due. #Polokwane #GaRena pic.twitter.com/ERQisOf76E

— Polokwane Observer (@PolokwaneObserv) July 24, 2024

One tenant, speaking on condition of anonymity said that they only became aware of the pending evictions last night.

She indicated that although she has her affairs in order, she hopes that some arrangement would be reached with the municipality so that nobody is left out in the cold.

However, Makomoto was adamant that that would not happen as he says millions has been spent of legal fees.

“If we have spent so much already on people who are aware that they have rent obligations, should we be willing to take those people back?” he told the Polokwane Review-Observer.

Makomoto said they were granted a court order to evict the tenants after exhausting all avenues for them to honour their arrangements.

This is not the first time that the tenants at Ga-Rena Rental Village have faced evictions. In 2022, tenants occupying 117 units were evicted.

Read more: [WATCH] Polokwane Muni evicts illegal occupants from Ga-Rena Rentals

He added that during those evictions, tenants that owed were given the opportunity to make arrangements, however, despite arrangements in place, the tenants have continued to fail to meet their obligations.

“We need the tenants to meet us halfway in order for us to maintain these housing units. In Seshego, a one bedroom double story unit is R400 a month. A two bedroom with the same set up is R800, but tenants are still not willing to pay. You can see that government has really tried to ensure that these people have shelter. The government is saying, meet us halfway as far as the maintenance of the unit,” he said.

“If you were to replace a geyser in one of those units, you won’t find a geyser that costs less than R5000 and the expectation is that each unit must be able to maintain itself. If you are collecting R400 or R800 from each unit, how much are you going to spend aside from the rent, if we are collecting at all? This is what has led to what is happening today,” he added.