About 30 properties in the Orange Grove suburbs are allegedly illegally occupied and the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) has approached the police to help claim them back.
This according to JPC, a City of Johannesburg housing entity, in response to questions sent to them by the North Eastern Tribune.
In his reply, the City’s group communications officer, Nthatise Modingoane, said they have opened a case again the illegal occupants and an investigation is under way.
According to Modingoane, there are about 27 houses that have been hijacked and occupied illegally without their consent.
He said JPC opened a docket with the South African Police Service in Norwood for hijacking of the houses and trespassing.
“Illegal occupants have been served with notices to vacate the properties already, however, they have ignored the notices,” said Modingoane.
“The City is in the process of applying for eviction orders so that the occupants may be evicted from the houses, pursuant to the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998.”
According to the City, the properties are being re-zoned and consolidated into developable parcels.
The finalisation of the rezoning, consolidation and tender process should be concluded within eight months, anticipated Modingoane.
“These consolidated land parcels can be developed into multi-storey [up to four-storey] residential developments and we hope that the development of the properties will [then] commence soon after that.
“A maximum of 530 new residential dwellings may be realised from these properties – these residential units may be sold or leased to members of the public at market-related prices,” he said.
This housing debacle started when the City entered into a short-term lease with the tenants as soon as the properties were acquired between 2015 and 2017.
Venitta Masisi, a community leader in the Johannesburg north-east suburbs, has welcomed the opening of the case and the investigation of this housing saga.
She said this has been going on forever and as the residents in the area, they feel aggrieved with the way the matter has been handled.
“We have been against these illegal occupations since this fiasco started in 2015 and worst of all is that the occupants are not even paying for the municipal services which is a loss in revenue for the City.
“What is most concerning also is that the occupants even lease rooms for as much as R1 500 a month while others go to an extent of selling alcohol in the houses they acquired illegally – meaning their businesses are illegal as well,” she said.
The houses that have been identified are those in several streets including 11th, 12th and 13th streets as well as in 6th and 10th avenues.
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https://northeasterntribune.co.za/223094/suspected-property-hijackers-nabbed-during-a-special-operation/
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/224226/four-suspects-arrested-for-alleged-property-hijacking/
