Slum house is the consequence of legal inertia [LETTER]
Putting a financial burden on the municipality may be the only way to elicit decisive action
EDITOR – The plight of the ratepaying residents of Hilltop Road, Bluff, as a result of the ills of the slum house in their midst, as published in the Southlands Sun dated 26 April headlined ‘Hilltop residents ‘gatvol’ of slum house’ is the consequence of legal inertia.
READ THE ARTICLE HERE: Derelict Bluff home cause for concern
When I represented the Bluff as councillor, I went through the same motions Cllr JP Prinsloo has indicated he will pursue. My efforts proved futile. Along with Ivor Aylward, we dealt directly with the owner who then resided in Pietermaritzburg. His promises proved worthless.
Although the Problem Buildings By-law was passed by eThekwini Council in June 2015, it is a toothless document involving a Byzantine pursuit of legal notices, inspections and warnings complete with an appeal process. The sticking point in the whole exercise is that unless alternative accommodation can be found for those squatting in a building, there can be no eviction and therefore no closure of the case.
As I seem to recall at the time, I advised individual ratepayers to petition the Rates Department for a downward revision of their rates as a result of the negative impact the slum house has on the market value of their properties. Putting a financial burden on the municipality may be the only way to elicit decisive action to end the mess in their midst.
Dr Duncan Du Bois
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