‘Lease violation’ could lead to eviction
A MANENBERG family, who unlawfully renovated their home to keep stray bullets out, faces eviction after living in the house for more than three decades.
Rabia Solomons, from Renoster Walk, has been occupying her home for more than 32 years. She is one of four residents served with an intention to evict letter due to her “non-compliance” with the city’s lease agreement policy.
Mayco member for Human Settlements Benedicta van Minnen said Solomons extended “extensively” to the back of the “non-saleable” city-owned flat. A nonsaleable flat is for rental purposes only.
The 56-year-old resident last year extended the front of her home with facebrick to “stop the bullets” from piercing her walls and putting her family’s lives at risk. The city said the ground covered by the extension was considered to be “communal space”.
When Solomons retired from her position as a packer at Bokomo Foods, she took her retirement package and invested at least R100 000 in renovating the front of her home by building thicker walls – and not a gate and carport which she previously asked the city permission for.
She said that when gang wars erupt, she was left vulnerable to stray bullets that easily pierced the walls of her flat.
Solomons said she started construction after she informed the city of her plans, but law enforcement officers, who served her with a compliance notice, instructed her to stop building works on August 26 last year. The city said it told Solomons to “apply formally” as the shared yard would be “subdivided first”. She was also informed of the city’s new structure policy with criteria Solomons should have met first before undertaking construction.
After a housing practitioner visited the flat, the city issued Solomons with a letter instructing her to remove the structure within 14 days but, by that time, she had run out of money to follow this instruction.
Van Minnen said as Solomons “failed” to remove her structure as requested, she was in contravention of her lease agreement. “Should it be found that she had still failed to comply with the city’s agreement of lease, then the matter will be referred to the city’s legal services department which could result in her eventual eviction,” she said.
Van Minnen insisted that if Solomons complied with the lease agreement, she would not be evicted.
Solomons said she had nowhere else to go because her entire life was established in Manenberg. Her daughter, Faranaahs Solomons, said her grandmother had extended the back of their home 20 years ago because she wanted her family to own something they were proud of.
The city could not indicate what alternative accommodation was available to the families of the affected tenants, only stipulating that they were allocated “enough time” to “correct misbehaviour” and for “unlawful occupants” to “find alternative accommodation before legal action is taken”.
Solomons said she felt defeated. She said the city would also not allow her rent relief because she contravened her lease agreement and would therefore not be able to make payments on time.
She has no form of income, and her children are all unemployed.