Western Cape High Court orders eviction of occupants conducting illegal activities on Council property

The City of Cape Town welcomes a highly significant judgement by the Western Cape High Court, which has ordered the eviction of the occupants of a Council Rental Unit (CRU) in 100 D, Sonderend Road, Manenberg, for conducting illegal activities on the property.

The City sought an eviction order against the occupants of the property for violating the conditions of their lease through illegal activities such as:

• Selling drugs on the property;
• Defaulting on rent payments; and
• Making alterations to the property without permission from the City.

The occupants were given two months to vacate the property, which will now be allocated to qualifying residents in line with the City's allocation policy.

As part of our commitment to building a Safe and Caring City, we are determined to clamp down on illegal and criminal activities at Council-owned properties throughout the city.

The City has already identified approximately 350 CRUs where current occupants are allegedly involved in illegal activities. 

The City's law enforcement units, and in particular the dedicated Housing Safety Unit, are conducting regular operations focusing on Council-owned properties throughout the metro, aimed at rooting out criminal elements in the City's CRUs.

The City will not tolerate its CRUs being used as a base for criminal and illegal activities. We are currently in the process of filing 36 eviction orders against occupants allegedly conducting unlawful activities in Council properties throughout the metro.

Just last month, the City obtained a final eviction order from the Western Cape High Court against the residents of a property in Belhar known as ‘The Little House on the Prairie' for selling drugs.

We will pursue every possible legal avenue to ensure that those who conduct criminal activities in these properties make way for law-abiding citizens.

I encourage the public to report any unlawful activities in Council Rental Units to their nearest Housing Office.

Our law enforcement authorities rely mostly on tip-offs from concerned law-abiding residents in order to raid areas where unlawful activities are taking place.

Statement issued by Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, April 23 2013

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