Madiba street in the Pretoria CBD was blocked off on Wednesday morning as Red Ants stormed the RNS House building‚ evicting about 800 people with their belongings onto the streets.
Dazed mothers carrying their young said they were hurried down the stairs of the building during the early morning raid.
Within minutes the pavement was aheap with broken furniture and appliances‚ with some tenants saying they had lost their chronic medication and documents such as identity documents and asylum permits.
According to Andiswa Njaba‚ a tenants representative and EFF ward 58 chairperson‚ the residents had stopped paying rent of between R1‚900 and R4‚500 in October last year after several complaints about the “terrible” condition of the building to the landlord fell on deaf ears.
She said they took the matter to the housing tribunal but the landlord took it to court for an eviction order.
“The lawyer representing the tenants then reached an out of court settlement with the landlord that the tenants would pay rent without consulting with the tenants‚ paving the way for an eviction order‚” she said.
Njaba said they immediately challenged the order on an urgent basis and the Red Ants were ordered to return the tenants’ belongings‚ back into the block of flats.
Siyabonga Zondo‚ who has been a tenant for six years‚ said they refused to pay rent because the building was a “dump”.
He said nothing works in the building‚ the ceilings are collapsing‚ floors cracked and the lift has not been working for years.
“We are told the property owes millions of rands for electricity and when the municipality switches off‚ he calls his people to connect. Where is our rent money going? This is our home‚” he said.
Shaheer Noormohamed‚ of Nazprop‚ owners of the building‚ is yet to respond to questions he requested when contacted for comment. — TMG Digital/The Times
Temporary reprieve for tenants as mass eviction in Pretoria is overturned by court order
Madiba street in the Pretoria CBD was blocked off on Wednesday morning as Red Ants stormed the RNS House building‚ evicting about 800 people with their belongings onto the streets.
Dazed mothers carrying their young said they were hurried down the stairs of the building during the early morning raid.
Within minutes the pavement was aheap with broken furniture and appliances‚ with some tenants saying they had lost their chronic medication and documents such as identity documents and asylum permits.
According to Andiswa Njaba‚ a tenants representative and EFF ward 58 chairperson‚ the residents had stopped paying rent of between R1‚900 and R4‚500 in October last year after several complaints about the “terrible” condition of the building to the landlord fell on deaf ears.
She said they took the matter to the housing tribunal but the landlord took it to court for an eviction order.
“The lawyer representing the tenants then reached an out of court settlement with the landlord that the tenants would pay rent without consulting with the tenants‚ paving the way for an eviction order‚” she said.
Njaba said they immediately challenged the order on an urgent basis and the Red Ants were ordered to return the tenants’ belongings‚ back into the block of flats.
Siyabonga Zondo‚ who has been a tenant for six years‚ said they refused to pay rent because the building was a “dump”.
He said nothing works in the building‚ the ceilings are collapsing‚ floors cracked and the lift has not been working for years.
“We are told the property owes millions of rands for electricity and when the municipality switches off‚ he calls his people to connect. Where is our rent money going? This is our home‚” he said.
Shaheer Noormohamed‚ of Nazprop‚ owners of the building‚ is yet to respond to questions he requested when contacted for comment. — TMG Digital/The Times
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