Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Sex, drugs and Bellville office blocks
The number of illegally converted residential buildings is growing Knysna owners kick up stink over lack of refuse collection
BELLVILLE is plagued by office buildings being illegally converted into residential blocks, while unscrupulous landlords line their pockets and look the other way as their buildings are sublet and used for drugs and prostitution.
That’s according to the City of Cape Town’s Problem Buildings unit, which has identified at least 44 problem buildings in the area, and branded Bellville “the worst area” when it comes to illegal occupation of buildings, drugs and prostitution.
Problem buildings in Bellville account for 27 percent of the 162 cases under investigation across the city.
JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security, said there was not a definitive number of converted buildings.
“It is not possible to give a definitive statistic, but the city has come across such cases.
“This particular issue is addressed via an integrated approach between various departments within the city, such as the Problem Buildings Unit, the planning and building development management department and City Health.”
The Problem Buildings Unit can only investigate once a member of the public has complained, which means there is a potential for under-reporting.
The specialised unit has managed to clear several such buildings, but says tenants often move into other slum buildings in the area.
City law enforcement officer Errowen Erasmus said problem buildings housed a varied group of people, not all of whom were involved in criminal activity. Many, buildings, however, failed to meet basic health and safety standards.
“In one of our recent cases in Durban Road, the offices were converted to flats, a take-away was set up in the front of the building, a crèche and church in the back, and a chop shop in the basement,” he said.
On Thursday a Weekend Argus team accompanied the unit when they followed up on complaints of a “restaurant” in the heart of the Bellville CBD.
Several health, fire and other safety violations were found within minutes of inspecting the office block turned residential property.
The restaurant owner failed to produce a business licence or a certificate of approval from the health department, showing only incomplete application forms dated 2013.
The kitchen and fire exits of the building failed a preliminary inspection, but action could only be taken once the fire and health departments did their own investigations.
The restaurant was illegally divided into several sections – one for diners, an internet cafe and another as living quarters for at least 30 people.
Omar Ali, who claimed to be the building caretaker, said about 70 people lived there, all sharing a single working toilet.
Law enforcement officers, however, believe the actual number to be far higher.
Many of the tiny 6x3m offices/apartments were home to as many as five people.
Owners of the property are usually given 14 days to address any problems, but a court challenge to any citations could drag the process out for years, Erasmus said.
Another big obstacle was tracking down the actual owners of the buildings.
“It is very hard to trace the owners. Sometimes they are owned by foreign companies or trusts, or the owners are overseas or the buildings have been abandoned after falling into decay.
“In many cases the owners sublet and don’t care about how the buildings are used, or what state they are in, as long as they get their rent money,” he added.
Shaun Stevenson, who owns the former Durban Road chop shop and will reopen it as a student accommodation building, said there were many other buildings in and around the Bellville area owned by “despicable slumlords”.
“I was given endless grief by the Problem Buildings Unit as I tried to fix everything, and they were quite antagonistic.
“I think it took some time to prove to them that I’m trying to invest in the area.”
He added that he believed that the unit was crucial to the process of turning Bellville around.
“But they need to be able to identify businesses that are genuinely trying to revitalise the area, and work together.”
kowthar.solomons@inl.co.za WHAT was meant to be a dream home for residents of an upmarket Knysna residential complex has become a nightmare after crucial services were suspended, leaving them wading through sewage and living with a rapidly growing pile of stinking rubbish.
The lack of sufficient security measures at Lake View Place, a 13unit complex in the centre of the popular holiday town, has also left residents afraid after a spate of robberies and other crimes over the past months.
Fuming tenants, who pay up to R10 000 rent per month, described the current state of the complex as a health hazard, and said the condition of the complex began deteriorating dramatically over the festive season.
One of the tenants, Peter Venter, noticed “a sickening stench” over the festive season, and realised that not only was the rubbish no longer being removed, but there was also sewage seeping through paved areas, and there were open sewerage pipes around the complex. He also noticed that the cleaning of the corridors between the units was being neglected, and the grass was no longer being mowed.
Another tenant, Preston Pietersen, said the stench had become so bad that they could no longer sit on their verandahs. He also had to lock up his dog inside his home during the day as he feared his pet would ingest the rubbish or drink the sewage water.
“You have to walk through the sewage every day to get in and out of the complex,” Pietersen said.
Venter added: “I had my grandson with me over the holidays and there are also other schoolgoing children in the complex. It has become a real health hazard.”
After numerous complaints to the body corporate, residents, who pay about R700 a month in levies, were informed that the lack of service was due to the termination of the complex’s cleaning contract.
“There seems to have been a miscommunication. The contractor pushed up its prices and wanted to know if we were willing to pay the increase. It was, however, too expensive and, before we knew it, they stopped cleaning,” Elna Brown, a body corporate representative, explained.
She added that the matter would be discussed at their next annual meeting on Thursday.
In the meantime, she said she had paid out of her own pocket for rubbish removal and cleaning of the complex.
She referred further queries to managing agent Trafalgar Property Management.
Port Elizabeth branch manager James Brownlee confirmed that the cleaning contract expired at the end of December “due to the poor quality service that was being provided.
“Alternative quotes have been gathered by the trustees and are being considered. We are currently investigating the possibilities of using an interim cleaning service to attend to the refuse collection and cleaning of the common areas. I believe that there was a request from the trustees that residents place their refuse in an area where it can be collected by the municipality while the problems are being resolved,” Brownlee said.
He added that they were not aware of the sewage problems. “We will attend to the necessary immediately.”
Regarding the long grass, Brownlee said the trustees were awaiting quotes from several service providers.
Residents also complained that crime in the complex had increased dramatically over the past six months, with the latest incidents escalating to break-ins.
During one incident, men impersonating police officers attempted to rob residents while the security gate was broken.
Local police spokesman Sergeant Chris Spies confirmed that there had been several incidents at the complex over the past few months.
There had also been nine vehicle break-ins since December 15.
Resident Johan van Schalkwyk said two vehicles were targeted this week, one of them his own.
“I personally have now had two vehicle break-ins during this period,” he said.
Venter added: “The only security measures we have include a remote access gate and cheap wall spikes that don’t really serve as a deterrent.”
Brownlee countered that when the gate was broken, repairs were effected timeously.
“We can confirm that increased security measures were put in place through extra lighting in the parking area. Although we are sad to hear of the break-ins and the ordeal that the residents have experienced, the body corporate can only ensure the safety of the property to a certain extent. It is therefore important that owners take the necessary steps to increase their own security levels inside their apartments as well,” he said. – Garden Route Media