Report illegal communes

JOBURG — Illegal communes pose a loss for the City of Johannesburg as their rates are not adjusted.

February 15, 2017

Chantelle Fourie 1 minute read

One of the approved communes around the University of Johannesburg. Photo: File.

JOBURG — The City of Johannesburg is well aware of illegal communes in Auckland Park, Westdene, Brixton and surrounds and it is focusing on owners who have converted residences to communes and failed to adjust their property rates accordingly.

During the course of the rates policy review meetings in February, illegal communes was once again a topic of discussion.

The City said that often property owners avoid registering or legalising their communes to avoid paying higher property rates. Most of the communes are found near institutions of higher learning like the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg.

Veli Hlophe, the City’s Deputy Director of Policy and Revenue Enhancement, said illegal communes was ‘a big problem’.

“[For] everything that you do on your property you must have Council approval. What most commune owners don’t understand is that they can legalise them,” said Hlophe.

He said that the area most likely to be prone to illegal communes might experience power outages and blocked sewers because of the overload on the systems.

“We urge neighbours to speak up when they see such things happening so people can be shown the proper channels to do things,” Hlophe said.

He further said ratepayers who owned communes needed to ensure that the running of their businesses did not affect their neighbours.

“The rooms that the students rent in communes must meet certain standards. Property owners also need to understand that there are bylaws that they need to adhere to, one of them being that they cannot make noise throughout the night.”

Various residents’ associations also condemn illegal communes and encourage residents to report them.

In region B, where the said areas are located, contact: