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eviction attorney Johannesburg Archives | Page 3 of 28 | Eviction Lawyers South Africa

Oct 31
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Castle of Good Hope eviction ‘is happening soon’, says Cape Town mayor

By | Eviction news, Evictions

Reprinted from News24, by Marvin Charles – 2024-10-30

  • Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced the imminent eviction of homeless people living outside the Castle of Good Hope during a council meeting on Wednesday.
  • The eviction date was initially set for 17 October, but more than ten days have passed since then.
  • The Department of Public Works obtained an eviction order in the Western Cape High Court in September.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the eviction of a group of homeless people living outside the Castle of Good Hope in the CBD is imminent.

More than 10 days have passed since the eviction date, which was set for 17 October.

Responding to questions during a full council sitting on Wednesday, Hill-Lewis said: “Once Public Works obtained the eviction order, with the City supporting the eviction, it is carried out by the sheriff of the court.

“The date has been set for the eviction. Obviously it is confidential, but it is happening soon.”

Hill-Lewis said the eviction of the group of homeless people who have been staying outside the Castle of Good Hope would be an “important” milestone.

“That has been the site of really terrible dereliction and urban decay for the last four or five years, and it’s been a very difficult problem to solve,” he added.

“It is a source of great regret for me that it has taken this long.”

The mayor’s announcement comes after a fire broke out at the Castle on Wednesday morning, but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

According to spokesperson for the City’s Fire and Rescue Service, Jermaine Carelse, the City’s firefighters responded to a call on Wednesday morning of structures alight in the vicinity of the Castle of Good Hope.

Three structures were destroyed, and five people were displaced.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

In September, the Western Cape High Court ordered that the group vacate the property by 17 October, following an eviction application from the national Department of Public Works.

According to the order, the City of Cape Town must provide alternative accommodation for the homeless people in safe spaces.

Hill-Lewis said there had been zero cooperation from two former public works ministers on the issue.

“Most residents usually accept the offer of alternative accommodation at the last minute when they are being evicted. It’s a sad thing because it could save us months in court if they accept the offer,” he said.

According to the City, the 358-year-old castle, which is a national heritage site, has seen a significant decline in visitors in recent times.

Living in makeshift tents, the homeless people have been using the moat that surrounds the castle for ablution purposes and dumping their waste.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading:

Oct 14
0

Prescribed charges

By | Electricity, Tenants

How long are you liable for municipal charges?

If you own a property, you are responsible for payment of certain charges to your municipality. If you are a tenant, you may pay your own utility costs or you may have an “all-in” rent, in which the landlord accommodates the cost of electricity, water and sewerage, etc., within the rental amount, and they pay the municipality directly. The property owner must always pay the property rates. What happens if you fail to pay the municipal charges you are liable for, either as owner or occupier? Is there a statute of limitations on debt to the municipality? The answer is complicated. In this context, the law refers to “prescribed charges”.

What does “prescribed” mean? 

A charge is prescribed when the law considers the debt too old for the creditor to enforce collection. A creditor can still demand payment of prescribed charges and include them on an invoice, but the defence of prescription may be used by the debtor to avoid payment. 

The National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (read with the National Credit Amendments Act 19 of 2014) makes it unlawful for a municipality to invoice a consumer for prescribed charges, or to collect them.

When do municipal charges prescribe?

The prescription of municipal charges is covered by the Prescription Act, Act 68 of 1969, read with current case law. In South Africa, refuse, rates and sewerage charges prescribe after a period of 30 years. However, water and electricity charges prescribe after a period of just three years. Water and electricity can easily be disconnected by the municipality for non-payment, unlike refuse collection or sewerage, which may explain the shorter prescription period.

Principles of prescription of municipal charges 

There is a mild anomaly in the way the prescription period is set for municipal charges. Debts generally fall due when the customer (the debtor) receives the invoice. The prescription period theoretically starts running when the debt falls due. However, we have all experienced times when our municipal bills arrive later than usual. In this case, prescription starts running when the knowledge of the claim should reasonably have come to the creditor’s attention. In plain English, if the municipality fails to invoice consumers for an extended period, then prescription starts when it reasonably ought to have done so, and not when the invoices were eventually despatched. 

Prescription is “interrupted” and the prescription period restarts if a consumer has admitted liability for the charge unambiguously and unequivocally. This can be problematic if a consumer signs an acknowledgement of debt for charges under dispute, to procure a payment plan or arrange for reconnection of services which were terminated due to non-payment. 

Payment of a prescribed charge and interruption of prescription

Once an amount has been paid, it cannot prescribe. Even if you made the payment in ignorance of this condition and in error, you cannot claim a reversal of the prescribed amount, or a refund of the amount paid. If a municipality has summonsed a consumer for an unpaid amount, this amount does not prescribe. 

Part payment of a debt, or acknowledgement of part of a debt, can interrupt the prescription period for the whole debt. This is sometimes an issue when a municipality sends out invoices based on estimated readings for an extended period of time. If a consumer either pays or admits liability for the charges raised on estimated readings, and the municipality then reconciles the consumer’s account with the actual readings and raises further charges, the new charges cannot prescribe.

Do you need further information? 

Prescription should not arise if you pay your bills on time. If you think you have been invoiced inaccurately or unfairly, relying on the prescription period is not the most appropriate way to avoid paying a charge you believe is unfair. If the charge is for water or electricity, you are likely to be disconnected. If the charge is for rates, refuse or sewerage, 30 years is a long time to be in dispute with the council! 

If you have any questions about your bill, speak to your municipality in the first instance. If you are in financial difficulty and are unable to pay your bill, it will usually agree to arrange a payment plan, but it’s important to make contact as early as possible and not as a last resort.

If you have done this and are still in dispute, SD Law can help. We are a firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships and we can also resolve matters with municipalities. Contact one of our attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with any property issues.

Further reading:

Oct 07
0

Single mother faces eviction threat after 30 years in family home

By | Eviction news, Evictions, Tenants

Shanaaz Dyason, 40, claims that the City of Cape Town is attempting to remove her from the house she has lived in for the past 30 years.

Reprinted from iol.co.za, by Marsha Dean – 2024-10-05

The property, located on Fir Tree Road, originally belonged to her parents, who were forcefully removed by the Apartheid government and relocated to flats in Lavender Hill.

In 1994, the family was permitted to return to their home, and since then, Dyason has resided there with her three children and grandchild.

Dyason has faced ongoing issues regarding the transfer of the house into her name for the past 14 years.

“When my parents got divorced, they both moved out of the house and went their separate ways. My mother and I then went to the rent office, and we explained that I still live in the house. They said the tenancy would be transferred over to me as I was of age,” she explained.

However, in 2010, Dyason received an eviction order, which threatened to send her back to Lavender Hill. The City offered her a one-bedroom flat in Plumstead, but she refused.

Later, she was taken to court, where the judge ruled that she was not illegal and was indeed eligible for the house, instructing the City to sign a lease with her.

“I signed a lease, but a couple of years later, the house is still not in my name. It’s been 14 years, and until today, nothing has been resolved,” Dyason lamented.

“My water keeps getting cut off, and I have to pay over R3000 just to have it reconnected, which consumes all the SASSA money meant for my children. I am paying R2300 a month for electricity to cover housing debt. Since the lease is not in my name, I cannot sort anything out. Every month, I go to the municipality, and they say the hold-up is with the rent office.”

Desperately, she stated, “I am at my wits’ end and don’t know what to do anymore. I have already lost my job because every month I need to stay out to go to the rent office and submit new papers.”

In response, Councillor Carl Pophaim, the Mayco Member for Human Settlements, stated, “The City can confirm that no eviction application is underway as alleged.

“The tenancy was allocated to Shanaaz Dyason, and she signed a lease agreement with the City on 21 September 2023. We encourage Mrs Dyason to visit her nearest City housing office to complete all the documentation needed to take ownership of the property.”

However, the City claims that the property address matter has been resolved and that the resident should visit her housing office as soon as possible.

For further information

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a law firm of specialist eviction lawyers in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. We help landlords and tenants maintain healthy working relationships. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need help with tenants’ rights or landlords’ responsibilities.

Further reading: