Johannesburg’s Killarney Country Club is gearing up for a legal brawl over the cancellation of its lease. With membership fees of up to R26 500 a year, the 96-year-old golf course is in a prime location.

For this reason, its stand-off with the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) over its lease has attracted the close attention of residents.

The Sunday Times reports that the wrangle includes a sublease deal between the club and a restaurant, which was found in an arbitration hearing to have been be mired in subterfuge after a ‘sweetheart deal’.

The sublease ended badly when vandals trashed the restaurant, causing R300 000 in damage.

The problems started in November 2021, when the club was found to have breached its R2-a-year lease with the city by subletting a portion of the property to the La Vie en Rose restaurant and, in a separate deal, allowing an advertising billboard to be erected facing the M1 highway.

The city said that because of these deals, the club's lease had been cancelled.

After rectifying the breaches, the club filed an application in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) in October 2022, asking for a review of the cancellation.

The matter will be heard on 13 August.

The Lower Houghton Ratepayers' Association (LHRA) has launched a support petition to have the lease restored. They have also joined the matter as amicus curiae.

In the petition, the LHRA says ‘the consequences of CoJ taking back the lease is likely be a disaster for the suburb’.

‘They are notorious for not maintaining their properties, security would leave, vagrants would move in and vandalism and crime would take over. We cannot stress enough how important it is that we stand together and protect our suburb,’ it said.

Full Sunday Times report