The short answer
You cannot be evicted during lockdown, but maybe you should apply for a Community Residential Unit in the meantime.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
I have been renting from a lady whose house belongs to the Cape Town Community Housing Company (CTCHC). Apparently, she is not actually allowed to rent this place out and has not paid anything to the general manager and CTCHC. I've gone to the housing tribunal, sent emails and spoke to the councillor but nobody can help us. The CTCHC has served me with an eviction notice claiming that we are illegally occupying the premises even though we had been paying rent to our supposed landlady.
When she found out, she tried to move in on top of me and my family. When I refused, she threatened to kill me and stab my 16-year-old son! We lost our small family business because of the pandemic so we have a very low income. My four children and I have various ailments (chronic asthma, nerve disorders, etc.). We can't afford to move and we can't go back to our previous rental home because the owner abused my children and kept demanding more money.
What can we do?
The long answer
Thank you for your email asking for help to find a place for you and your family to live, now that you face eviction from a Cape Town Community Housing Company (CTCHC) house that you have been renting from the owner, who should not have been renting it out, according to the CTCHC rules.
The CTCHC is one of five social housing companies in Cape Town. Social Housing is a state-subsidised rental housing option targeted at low- to medium-income earning people (between R1,500 and R15,000). The housing units are not owned as such but rented to clients.
In looking up the rules that apply to CTCHC, I came across an article in “The Voice” by Junior Bester in July 2021, describing your experience. This article quoted the CTCHC manager, Mr David Masimila saying that the client was allowed to rent out a single room but had to stay on the premises herself. Mr Masimila was quoted as saying that he had issued a letter to the client, warning her to sort out the issue within 30 days or face legal action. The client is quoted as saying she was told she had to move back into the house or the CTCHC would cancel their contract with her.
This is presumably why she tried to force her way back into the house.
In terms of eviction, you cannot be evicted in South Africa without a court order under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (PIE). And in the present time, you cannot be evicted until the lockdown is ended, even if a court order has been obtained, unless the court specifically says that you can be evicted.
The person wishing to evict you – the CTCHC – must apply for a court date to hear the application for eviction. You must get a copy of the application and you must be informed of the date of the court hearing and that you have a right to be there and put your side of the story. The court must take into account the effect of an eviction on vulnerable people like your children, and also see if the municipality can offer alternative accommodation if the eviction order is granted.
Since the rules applying to the CTCHC housing are clear, it is unlikely that you will be allowed to stay there, but you can use the court hearing to ask the municipality for assistance with emergency accommodation. You could also apply to the municipality to be put on the list for social housing. In your present difficult circumstances with your small business having been closed due to the pandemic, you may also qualify for Community Residential Units (CRU), which is a rental option.
To qualify for CRU housing, you must be:
Married or living with a partner or a single person with dependents
A South African citizen
Over the age of eighteen and mentally competent to sign a contract
Have a monthly household income of between R800 to R3,500.
Registered on the Municipal Housing Demand Database/National Housing Needs Register
If you have previously owned property, you are still allowed to apply for CRU.
To apply for CRU housing, you must visit your local municipal office and take:
Your ID
Certified copy of your spouse’s ID
Certified copies of birth certificates of children
Payslips and bank statements.
You could go again to the municipality and ask them what they can do to assist you. If the municipality is unhelpful, you could contact the office of the Human Settlements Ombudsman and tell them what has happened. The Ombudsman is the official who must assist to resolve disputes involving housing matters.
This is the email address: ombudsman@dhs.gov.za
You could also contact the provincial housing MEC on the grounds that you have not been assisted by the municipality in the matter. The Western Cape MEC is Tertius Simmers, and the Housing Queries number given on the Western Cape Government website is:
Housing Queries:
Colleen Smart
Tel: 021 483 0675
Cell: 072 825 3257
E-mail: Colleen.Smart@westerncape.gov.za
You could also contact The Black Sash for free paralegal advice:
Email: help@blacksash.org.za
Helpline: 072 66 33 73
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
Answered on Aug. 11, 2021, 10:09 a.m.
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