Council tenants not happy with new housing policy
To date approximately 200 of the +-450 notices have acknowledged the new rental and signed their lease.
The Ekurhuleni metro has urged residents to be more attentive to leases and rentals before signing as tenants failure to comply is not only leaving the metro in arrears but also forcing them to hand out eviction letters to the tenants.
Failure of residents to comply have landed the metro in the high court on a number of occasions due to 51 tenants refusing to pay their rental fees.
During this court period, no credit control was done on the applicants, which meant they had access to free units of electricity that accumulated to R6-million.
The metro’s spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the cases were eventually withdrawn and now payment arrangements are being made.
This led to Dlamini explaining that tenants need to understand the terms and conditions of leasing a council-owned flat and the housing policy before signing.
The new housing policy came into effect on October 1 and the rentals are in accordance with the income provided by the tenants.
Tenants within the income bracket of R800 to R7 500 have had their rentals adjusted according to the rental tariffs provided by the approved housing policy; however, some do not want to disclose their income.
Actonville residents in Delhi Court, who did not want to be named, expressed their dissatisfaction with the new housing policy.
They explained that some residents have lived in the council-owned flats for 10 years and simply cannot afford to pay the new rental fees.
They added that a few residents in protest stopped paying their rent and recently received eviction notices from the metro.
Dlamini explained what the metro requires from tenants in order for them to lease a council-owned flat:
Payment arrangements
Dlamini explained that the metro continuously engages tenants regarding their individual accumulated arrears and they are allowed to approach credit control in the finance department to make suitable arrangements and payments.
“Tenants are not immediately handed over. However, in some instances where there have been non-payment for several years (five to six years) of giving them numerous chances to make suitable payments and/or arrangements. It is noted that payments of rentals and arrears are compulsory.
“Should the efforts undertaken fail, the tenants are issued with a written notice, which once again indicates they should approach the finance department before handover is considered.
“At the time of the handover, the tenants receive correspondence from the appointed attorney or court, which can still be considered for withdrawal, should they cooperate.”
No payment/payment plan means no renewal of leases
“The finance department has a credit control policy that is adhered to, even though the tenants have also been handed over to debt collectors for the accumulated debt. In many instances, this is ignored by the tenants,” he said.He added that notices have been issued to the tenants, advising the lease agreements are available for viewing and signing.
“To date, approximately 200 of the 450 notices have acknowledged the new rental and signed their lease,” he disclosed.
“Many tenants who are in arrears have made arrangements and will be monitored for two to three months before signing off their lease.”
Advice from the metro
Dlamini advised that tenants in bigger flats move to a small flat, which will assist them in paying a lower rental.
“In the same token, single and couple pensioners have the availability of a pension unit, where rental is R215, which is way below the rental of a family unit,” he concluded.
ALSO READ:
Sewage spills: Metro warns against what you flush down the toilet
