Johannesburg Building Owners Struggling To Evict Illegal Occupants: Khampepe Commission of Inquiry

• The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry revealed that property owners in Johannesburg struggle to remove illegal tenants
• A property developer shared that it battled to remove tenants for 10 years as they wanted to convert the building into student accommodation
• The manager of a particular building said court processes and a delay from the City of Johannesburg are preventing them from evicting the tenants successfully

With nine years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, provided insights into infrastructure challenges in South Africa at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG — Owners of Johannesburg buildings occupied by illegal tenants have been struggling for 10 years to remove their unwanted tenants because of court processes and delays in the City of Johannesburg.

Buildings struggle to evict tenants

According to SowetanLIVE, the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate the Usindiso building fire, which claimed 77 lives in Johannesburg in 2023. On 28 October 2024, it was heard that Solomon Ramalamula, the managing director of Remington Height on the corner of Albert and Delvers streets, has struggled for 10 years to remove illegal tenants.

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Ramalamula, who manages the building on behalf of Nulane Investment, said Nulane bought the building in 2013. The building was already hijacked when they purchased it, and the troubles began when they started the eviction process. Ramalamula said the City of Johannesburg was supposed to find alternative accommodation for the tenants, and they took time while billing the company for utilities the tenants used.

Occupants told to leave

The company informed the tenants that they must vacate the premises, even offering affordable rental units at R1,500 monthly. A dispute broke out between Nulane and the residents, who hired security personnel to protect the flat. This led to Nulane involving the police.

Other buildings struggling to evict

The Commission also heard from expert witness John Vermaak that 25 buildings could not evict the illegal tenants because the City could not provide temporary emergency accommodation. Most residents are too poor to secure alternative accommodation.

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Over 120 illegal foreigners arrested in Durban

in a related article, Briefly News reported that the South African Police Service arrested over 120 undocumented foreigners in Durban.

The police raided three hijacked buildings in Durban's CBD and arrested foreign nationals who were undocumented.

Source: Briefly News