Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has advised residents of the N2 Gateway housing project who are threatening a rent strike to ‘give a month’s notice, pack their bags and make way for people who are willing to payâ€.
Sisulu was responding to a call by some tenants for rent payments to be suspended from the end of this month if construction defects remain Âunrepaired. Residents told the Mail & Guardian they had already cancelled stop orders. They said the monthly rentals, of between R500 and R1 150, were too high and their complaints were not heard.
Sisulu said South Africa ‘needs an ethos of responsibilityâ€. ‘People living in the N2 rental homes have signed a contract, and if they can’t afford to pay rent, they can’t live there any more. I would strongly advise them not to cut off their noses to spite their faces.â€
However, she appeared to concede that residents’ complaints had some basis. She was ‘angry because I’m now settled with something that’s less than perfect. I’ve asked Thubelisha Homes [N2 project managers] to get an independent engineer, and before I blow my top, I need to see this report.â€
The report, by Cape Town’s Anathi Consulting Engineers, which the M&G has seen, found cracks in most buildings, which posed no threat to occupants, but also that poor workmanship necessitated ongoing repairs.
Three months ago Thubelisha’s Prince Xhanti Sigcwa confirmed that more than 1 000 complaints had been received from tenants. Sigcwa undertook to attend to these by the end of April, which many residents say has not happened.
In visits to homes this week, the M&G established that some faults remain. In one house, damp on the ceiling had spawned mould. In another, a bedroom had been abandoned because of damp, and the children using it had to be moved to relatives in Guguletu.
Also in March, about 100 complaints were lodged with the Rental Tribunal. Sisulu said about 10 complaints a day were currently being received.
The multibillion-rand N2 Gateway, Sisulu’s flagship slum clearance project, aimed to deliver 22 000 housing units to shack and backyard-dwellers by the middle of last year, but has so far delivered 705 rental units in its first phase.
Construction costs, initially projected at about R80 000 per unit, had escalated to R130 000 by mid-2006, pushing up rentals.
Luthando Ndabambi of the tenants committee claimed 80% of tenants were unhappy and would stop paying rent. ‘We want minister Sisulu to talk to us about why our rent is so high and when they’re planning to fix the building problems: the damp, leaking pipes and cracked walls and ceilings.
‘Month after month they promise to fix our flats. Now it’s winter and some units are leaking terribly. We challenge the minister to come and evict us,†Ndabambi said.
Rental Tribunal spokesperson Xolani Tyilana said the tribunal had not yet sent inspectors to the site, but insisted that Thubelisha had fixed 80% of the problems.
‘People were told what rent they have to pay before they moved in; they have to fulfil their obligations. Thubelisha Homes said they’ve fixed 80% of the problems. Now some tenants are not happy with the quality of the fixing. The real issue is that they’re looking for any excuse not to pay rent.â€