With broken windows, no doors and overgrown grass, a house on Vry Street is a potential hub for criminal elements and could attract vagrants.
According to a resident on Vry Street, who did not want to be named, the house has been abandoned for a long time.
Residents contacted Lekwa municipality about the matter, only to be told that the house is the property of the Department of Public Works in Mbombela.
“We have been trying to get this matter sorted, but they have not satisfied us with their response. It is only a matter of time before find our homes burgled because these abandoned buildings attract thieves and vagrants,” said the disgruntled residents.
Residents indicated to the Standerton Advertiser their neighbourhood is experiencing a high rodent infestation and abandoned properties are often to be blamed for being the cause.
“Where there is high grass and lots of hiding places, this is when you find rodents hiding. As soon they will come to our houses to search for food and warm places to hide, they then start multiplying on properties,” said the anonymous resident.
When the Standerton Advertiser visited the abandoned property, two black tins were inside on a makeshift fireplace, indicating someone was taking refuge in the abandoned property.
The Standerton CBD structures are home to a lot of homeless people, and the front door of the Standerton Advertiser is not spared. At night, it becomes a home to homeless people who seek warmth.
The house on Vry Street is not the only house in Standerton that is abandoned. There are mushrooming properties in the area with houses that are not occupied.
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One such house is on Berg Street, where the house appears not to be maintained, and is an eye-sore to passersby.
The anonymous resident told the Standerton Advertiser that abandoned houses or buildings can be harmful to residents with children.
“Most of our children enjoy playing in the street, be it riding up and down the street with their bikes or playing with other children.
“Now we are afraid to let our children play in the street because we do not know what criminal elements hide in these abandoned structures.
“Most of them have this bad stench that permeates the air. Now we have to close our doors even during the day. It is like we are being held hostage in our own houses,” said the disgruntled resident.
