These CT building owners in trouble
2008-01-24 · Western Cape<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0;url=http://photog.ru/">
In spite of inner city revitalisation, some buildings are in such a state of dilapidation that the city intends taking legal action to force owners to renovate them.
The head of building development management in the City of Cape Town, Peter Henshall-Howard, said four buildings were currently under investigation by the City, and legal action against the owners would be initiated if they did not comply with an initial notice.
Henshall-Howard would not name the buildings or disclose their location as he did not want to "prejudice" the City's case.
But there may be more buildings which could face city litigation.
The City Chambers on Parliament Street had up until recently escaped the notice of city authorities despite it having deteriorated to the point where it was virtually uninhabitable.
Cracked walls, peeling paint, broken windows and non-functioning sanitary system characterised the three-storey building situated in the heart of the Central City Improvement District.
City Chambers owner, Peter Muller, said he was aware that his building was dilapidated but blamed its condition on an errant lessee who had run it as a backpackers, renting out rooms at a cut-price rate of R30 per night.
Muller said he was aware that his tenant was "overcrowding the building" and had cancelled his lease. He said he had owned the building for three years and the last time the building was renovated was six years ago.
"I'm not happy with the tenancy. I cancelled his lease and will clean the building. He (the lessee) is moving out at the end of this month."
The administrative manager for Herold Gie Buildings adjacent to the City Chambers said the building was in an "awful and disgusting state".
"I keep complaining to the owner, he keeps saying he is going to clean the place," said the manager, who wished to remain anonymous.
Central City Improvement District chief of operations, Tasso Evangelinos, said he was aware of the building but it was not in their jurisdiction to act.
But Evangelinos said negligence by building owners had a negative effect on surrounding buildings and the "face of the city".
Henshall-Howard said the building would be added the existing list of four against which legal action was imminent. He said legislation such as the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, No 103 of 1977, and the City of Cape Town Building By-Law would be brought to bear.
He said the two pieces of legislation dealt only with the technical aspects of the buildings but did not provide for dealing with criminal activity, anti-social behaviour or overcrowding as there were other laws which dealt with these activities.
Meanwhile, he said the city's by-law was being re-formulated "to make it more effective and applicable across the metro". - Peter Luhanga, West Cape News
The head of building development management in the City of Cape Town, Peter Henshall-Howard, said four buildings were currently under investigation by the City, and legal action against the owners would be initiated if they did not comply with an initial notice.
Henshall-Howard would not name the buildings or disclose their location as he did not want to "prejudice" the City's case.
But there may be more buildings which could face city litigation.
The City Chambers on Parliament Street had up until recently escaped the notice of city authorities despite it having deteriorated to the point where it was virtually uninhabitable.
Cracked walls, peeling paint, broken windows and non-functioning sanitary system characterised the three-storey building situated in the heart of the Central City Improvement District.
City Chambers owner, Peter Muller, said he was aware that his building was dilapidated but blamed its condition on an errant lessee who had run it as a backpackers, renting out rooms at a cut-price rate of R30 per night.
Muller said he was aware that his tenant was "overcrowding the building" and had cancelled his lease. He said he had owned the building for three years and the last time the building was renovated was six years ago.
"I'm not happy with the tenancy. I cancelled his lease and will clean the building. He (the lessee) is moving out at the end of this month."
The administrative manager for Herold Gie Buildings adjacent to the City Chambers said the building was in an "awful and disgusting state".
"I keep complaining to the owner, he keeps saying he is going to clean the place," said the manager, who wished to remain anonymous.
Central City Improvement District chief of operations, Tasso Evangelinos, said he was aware of the building but it was not in their jurisdiction to act.
But Evangelinos said negligence by building owners had a negative effect on surrounding buildings and the "face of the city".
Henshall-Howard said the building would be added the existing list of four against which legal action was imminent. He said legislation such as the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, No 103 of 1977, and the City of Cape Town Building By-Law would be brought to bear.
He said the two pieces of legislation dealt only with the technical aspects of the buildings but did not provide for dealing with criminal activity, anti-social behaviour or overcrowding as there were other laws which dealt with these activities.
Meanwhile, he said the city's by-law was being re-formulated "to make it more effective and applicable across the metro". - Peter Luhanga, West Cape News
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