Alleged hijacked house a worry for Ferndale residents

An abandoned property has been the worry of Ferndale residents for many years after it was allegedly hijacked.

Bradley Young, the son of a concerned neighbour of the property said the ordeal for his father had been ongoing for the past four years, and he had seen the property rapidly transform from a leafy suburban family home to being abandoned and on the verge of derelict.

“There is no doubt that this property has been hijacked,” claimed Young.

He said neighbours had banded together to inform the City of this situation almost four years ago.

“The bank that managed the bond of the owner has been using their lawyers to try and track down the owner, but this has also been unsuccessful. Thankfully in the past three months, City representatives have finally come to inspect the situation.”

Young claimed his father had seen numerous incidents of alleged criminal activity taking place at the property.

“Both my father and I have seen some highly suspicious activity including the usage of drugs and prostitution. All of his neighbours are aware of this, but as the property borders his boundary wall the most, my father feels intimidated and targeted by those who live in the property.

“We know that there is a large number of outstanding rates and taxes, so there is no electricity or running water to the building.”

He added that due to the lack of running water, the people that occupied the building conducted their ablutions in the garden, and Young often saw tied up plastic packets of faeces, either left on the back wall or dumped in his father’s garden.

“Due to the constant stress of the situation, my father has developed issues with his mental and emotional health and has had to seek treatment to help it. While there is progress in sorting the issue out, my dad still needs to cope with the situation.

“Our private security company in our area has done a phenomenal job in helping to secure the nearby area and recently captured an individual in my dad’s back garden who was cutting down one of his trees for firewood. We have also tried our best to secure the back wall with razor wire.”

The owner of the property apparently left the premises about six years ago and according to both Young and Ward 104 councillor Mike Wood, the City has been unable to trace the whereabouts of the owner.
Wood said, “The process has been a bit delayed as we have gone to great lengths to track down the owners of the house, but it is seemingly impossible. There are allegations that the property has been hijacked and unknown individuals are charging a large number of occupants rent, but this is unconfirmed at this stage.”

Wood added that the matter had been taken up with the City’s complaints department and handed over to their attorneys to follow up on.

The Randburg Sun has contacted the City of Joburg’s complaints department and is awaiting their response.