CT residents urged to report illegally occupied buildings
The municipality said that even though it has made some strides in addressing the problem it hasn’t been an easy task.
A bird's eye view of the City of Cape Town. Picture: SkyPixels/Wikimedia Commons
CAPE TOWN - The City of Cape Town is appealing to its residents to report illegally occupied buildings.
The municipality said that even though it had made some strides in addressing the problem, it hadn’t been an easy task.
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Mcpherson told Parliament last week that over 338 buildings have been hijacked countrywide.
The city stated that it was guided by its by-laws on how to deal with suspected illegally occupied buildings before it can initiate legal action against the owners or occupants.
MMC for safety and security, JP Smith, said that the unlawful occupation of property was on the rise worldwide due to complicated red tape that failed to protect property owners
"However, this creates a problem for the city as these properties become a home for squatters and criminals and are generally left to decay abysmally, impacting the residents around it. These buildings can become dangerous as they are used as dump sites and are health and fire hazards," said Smith.