A month ago, the Tshwane Metro Council resolved to tackle problems related to bad buildings. The municipality passed the draft derelict buildings by-law aimed at tackling these problems which have grown to alarming proportions.
You have only to walk around Pretoria’s inner city and Sunnyside to see the shocking condition that some of the buildings are in.
Does the municipality have the capacity or the will to tackle this problem?
The sad part is that some of these buildings (such as Schubart and Kruger Park flats) actually belong to the municipality.
The capital has, over the past few years, seen an increase in the number of bad buildings. The municipality can partly be blamed for this.
Many landlords have illegally converted their building into residential units and, in some instances, this has been done without proper council consent, which includes meeting health and safety requirements.
One big problem is that a large percentage of these buildings have been turned into churches, while others have been “cut up” to make room for either a hair salon or a store.
It would appear that the metro council’s city planning department does not have the capacity to monitor these infringements.
If no permission has been granted then those who are acting illegally should be prosecuted. The council has municipal courts to deal with such transgressions.
And, if the landlords have indeed been granted permission to “cut” these buildings into pieces to make extra rooms, then whoever in the metro council agreed to that should be taken to task.
Building and other inspectors should be making sure that landlords tow the line and that they do not allow their buildings to degenerate into slums.
Failure by the municipality to enforce the law could lead to some big companies leaving the inner city because they do not want to be next to a building that does not meet basic standards.
A few years ago, one of the country’s leading booksellers, Van Schaik, complained about the unhealthy conditions at the Libri Building in Church Street.
The municipality took the owners of Libri Building to court, after the premises were declared unsafe by inspectors.
The council had initially asked for a Pretoria High Court order compelling the owner of the building to evict all illegal occupiers and to ensure that no one entered the property.
It was agreed that council would not take further steps, subject to several conditions. This included that no cooking take place in any of the rooms, except in designated areas to be provided on each floor of the building.
It was also agreed facilities be upgraded.
The council should follow on what it did with the owners of the Libri Building, and Marchie Mansions in Schoeman Street, which have since been demolished.
A worrying aspect is that the owners of some of these bad or derelict building take advantage of people, especially youngsters, who are desperate for accommodation. Most of these youngsters are students who come from areas outside Pretoria.
The municipality should urgently implement its by-laws and should not hesitate to take action against landlords who fail to maintain their buildings.
Failure to do so could result in the municipality facing similar problems to those the City of Joburg is facing with regard to that city’s bad buildings.
Source: iolproperty.co.za
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