The hijacking of residential properties in South Africa is increasing. Organised syndicates take advantage of state inaction, and outdated and impractical legislation.
Syndicates force their way onto occupied or vacant properties, forcibly evict tenants or owners, and put in place tenants of their choice, according to Businesstech.
Syndicates often hijack properties when the owners are on holiday.
The reason for this trend is that the Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act does not take account of syndicates. A property owner must apply to a court to obtain an order for the eviction of unlawful occupiers.
Says Dominic Steyn of Cowan-Harper-Madikizela Attorneys: ‘The property owner then has no other choice but to rely on the Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE Act) to evict the unlawful occupiers. The process can take years and incurs excessive legal costs. Meanwhile the owner remains responsible for rates, taxes and utility services consumed.’
Notice must also be given to the unlawful occupiers, and when hearing the application the court must consider all relevant circumstances, including:
- The rights of the elderly, children, disabled persons and households headed by women;
- Whether alternative accommodation is available or can be made available; and
- Whether it will be just and equitable to grant an eviction order.
If there is no alternative accommodation readily available the unlawful occupiers may not be evicted until it somehow becomes available.
‘In our experience, a property owner will be lucky to have the unlawful occupiers evicted within a period of 10 months from the date of the eviction application being instituted, and far longer where there are multiple occupiers,’ said Steyn.
Syndicates usually oppose the application, which drags the process out for years. Legal costs can easily exceed R800 000 and are seldom recoverable.