Department intends evicting ‘unlawful’ flat occupants
The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements plans to pursue an eviction order against 500 residents in three blocks of government-owned flats in Extension 22 in Mamelodi East, Tshwane who have unlawfuly occupied the building, reports GroundUp.
The group of residents had unlawfully occupied the incomplete Nellmapius Heatherly flats in March 2019, while it was still being built.
Most of the occupiers were backyarders and shack tenants in Mamelodi.
The department first approached the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to evict the occupiers from the apartments in 2019.
The group was then evicted... but the flats were unlawfully occupied again.
Now the department says it plans to return to court in 2024 to evict the current occupiers.
The department says it wants to complete the construction of the flats and hand them over to the rightful beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the residents say they are living in fear after gang members hijacked the building and are forcing them to pay money.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
