Fleurhof residents occupy flats illegally

Residents of RDP flats in Fleurhof Ext 30 have accused the Department of Human Settlements of heartlessly evicting them from their homes, barely a week after they moved in.

This sudden removal has sparked outrage among the community as families battle to find new places to call home. About 500 community members were affected by the apparent eviction, and they have been sleeping outside for the past few days.

The flats were built by CALGRO M3 developments, and the property is currently being looked after by security officials, who say are acting on instructions from the Department of Human Settlements, and that access to the units will only be granted to the rightful owners, as allocated by the department.

The residents claim that they have a court order that permitted them to occupy the flats.

“We have C-forms that show that we applied for this housing in 1996. We have been waiting for the houses, and we moved in because the court order ordered it,” said the residents during the Roodepoort Record’s visit to the site on June 12.

When asked about their previous living arrangements before occupying the units, residents stated that some of them were homeless, and some were living in the nearby informal settlements.

According to the deputy director for communications and stakeholders for the Department of Human Settlements, Neo Goba, the allegation that the department evicted the residents, is untrue.

“There has not been an eviction. Security officers, with the assistance of law enforcement, did, however, stave off two attempts to invade these properties.”

Goba added that the department has processes in place for the allocation of RDP units to qualifying persons.

“If they do have a court order that allows them to occupy the units in question, they are welcome to produce it, but to date, we have no record of such an order.”

The residents vowed to stand their ground until they were granted ownership of the flats.