Cllr perplexed by city policy on abandoned buildings

IT is up to the public to inform the municipality of abandoned properties said exasperated ward 66 councillor, Duncan Du Bois.

The local councillor raised some questions regarding abandoned building at a recent council meeting and was unsatisfied with the answers he received.

He noted that abandoned properties not only attracted rats, snakes and criminal elements, but they had a negative effect on the value of other properties in the vicinity, while costing the municipality in unpaid rates.

Du Bois said the municipality added they did not know just how much was owed in rates from abandoned properties.

“Amazingly, the official response to my question stated that it was up to public representatives and members of the public to draw the city’s attention to the whereabouts of abandoned properties and that the city had no policy with regard to auctioning off such properties in order to recoup lost revenues.

In one case I investigated in Marlborough Park, R77,000 is owed in rates. There is a property in Cairn Garoch Road, Brighton Beach that is half-built and has been officially unoccupied for more than 12 years. I find it unacceptable that city officials are not pro-active in identifying abandoned properties and tracing their owners,” said Du Bois.

“In response to my inquiry whether the rates would be reduced on other properties in a neighbourhood that is blighted by one of these abandoned eyesores, the response was negative. Again, I find this unacceptable. Why should the value of individual properties be undermined because of the state of one property? How can the council justify its policy of growing the rates base while at the same time failing to act on those who are undermining property values on which the municipal rates are based?”