Landowner cleared to demolish illegally built structures
Houses of 70 supposedly ‘wealthy’ homeowners built on illegally acquired land in an upmarket Pietermaritzburg suburb face imminent demolition as the invaders refused to pay the property owner’s asking price.
The Sunday Tribune reports that Jagath Singh, the owner of Leliefontein Farm in Thornville, previously obtained a KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) order to evict the occupants and have the illegally built homes demolished.
He is now preparing to carry out the court’s instruction.
Singh required R150 000 per site on his property from the invaders for him to abandon his eviction and demolition action, but they refused.
Instead, they offered a combined amount of R325 000.
Attorney Udash Vather said Singh exhausted all avenues to reach an amicable settlement with the occupants, and he was now ready to demolish the houses.
He said he and Singh had held several meetings with police and a security company to plan the eviction, which must be led by a sheriff.
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.
