IRATE residents of Sydenham Heights gathered in Musgrave on Friday to demand that the eviction of residents from the block of flats cease.
A meeting was organised by ward 31 councillor, Christopher Pappas, between the residents and the building’s managing agent, to discuss a loan of R2.8 million that was taken out without the knowledge or approval of residents.
According to Pappas, this has lead to a massive increase in levies to pay off the loan which many residents cannot afford. The buildings were originally developed for social housing.
He said Sydenham Heights was converted from a government owned and run social housing development to sectional title units in 2008. At the time, residents were given title deeds to their flats with the promise of government support in terms of how to run and manage their buildings. “According to the residents, the buildings were supposed to be handed over in a good state with engineers reports and health and safety concerns addressed. This makes logical sense. However, if one takes a look at the buildings you will notice that they are far from being safe living environments,” he said.
Pappas said the condition of the buildings were terrible and the Sydenham Lodge building was in fact shifting due to structural damage.
“An engineer is needed to put together a report on the building before any damage can be fixed, however the residents can’t afford to pay for this,” he said.
Pappas explained that a loan of more than R2.4 million was taken out because residents in the one block of flats were struggling to pay their utility bills.
“Considering that many of the residents were already defaulting on payments and moreover, that many of the residents come from low income households, it is questionable how they could have been given the loan. The failure to pay levies has lead to many evictions and people being forced to sell. Is this another case of a loan shark praying on the poor?” he asked.
Residents took it upon themselves to approach the managing agent of the building and the loan company in an attempt to stop the evictions.
“They want to get to the bottom of why the loan was taken out and to find out why the buildings were not given over to them in a good condition. This resulted in a protest outside the managing agent’s head office in Musgrave,” said Pappas.
Following the meeting, Pappas said it was agreed that the trustees would go back and pass resolutions not to evict residents for at least four weeks while discussions and meetings continue.
“All documents pertaining to the loan as well as documents from the managing agent are to be handed over for interrogation. A petition will be handed to the municipal manager calling for the municipality to fund a private engineer to conduct a report on the buildings’ structural integrity and health and safety issues,” he said.
