13/08/2015
Joburg to reduce rental for elderly
It's good news for thousands of elderly people living in Joburg council old age homes. The Gauteng Rental Housing Tribunal has ordered the City of Joburg to decrease rentals from September 1.
Elderly residents sit down to lunch in the dining room at a Joburg city council-owned home for the aged in Soweto.
The elderly, most of whom are on a state pension, have been complaining for years that they can't afford the rental.
They have also complained that the city doesn't undertake maintenance work and that they live in poor conditions.
The Old Age Villages Association, comprising 26 villages, took their grievances to the tribunal which ruled in their favour in June.
The Star visited Riverlea Extension 2 Senior Citizens Village and heard the complaints.
Marlene Humphries said there was no maintenance in the village despite the fact that they were charged exorbitant fees.
"We have a collapsing fence which we have reported many times. We are vulnerable as there is drug dealing in the area. We have leaking taps which we repair at our own cost which we cannot afford," she pointed out.
Another resident, Maud Morris, said the fire extinguishers had not been serviced for years, which endangered their lives.
"In summer the grass is long. We have also unblocked our own drains many times," she said.
The rent, Morris said, was far too high for people living on a state pension.
Residents pay between R230 and R480 a month, depending on the size of the flat.
This includes water, but excludes electricity.
Pensions vary between R1 350 and R1 410 and expenses for electricity, transport, food, and medicine range between R2 022 and R3 850, leaving residents with a shortfall of about R770 a month.
In the tribunal papers, the city said the rent was already subsidised and should be closer to R500 a month. The city decreased rent for the 2013-14 financial year and was prepared to freeze the current rents for the next two years.
In the papers, the city said it was "very sensitive to the plight of the elderly, but harsh economic realities dictate that it would simply not be able to maintain the facilities if the rent was reduced".
It also said many tenants refused to pay rent.
In its final findings, the tribunal said it acknowledged that there was huge pressure for housing in the city, especially for the elderly, and that the government was unable to cater for all these needs to the full extent required.
"We also take into account that unrealistically low rentals may result in ratepayers being compelled to bear the additional burden of further subsidising these units," the tribunal ruled, adding that legislation must be interpreted, where possible, to favour the more vulnerable sectors of society.
It reduced the rental to R180 a month for a bachelor unit to R360 for a one-bedroom unit.
It also said outstanding maintenance work should be completed by June 30, which had not happened. If the city does not comply, it can be found guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine, or imprisonment not exceeding two years.
Councillor Basil Douglas, who receives daily complaints from homes in Riverlea/Eldorado Park in his ward, said he was pleased with the ruling.
"I congratulate all the leaders of senior citizens villages on their victory, and will hold the city accountable for its service delivery towards the senior citizens.
"The aged have had to deal with bad living conditions for years.
"In four villages in my ward, the units were not regularly serviced. Some had sewage mains blocked, fire hydrants that don't work and toilets that are not in working condition," Douglas said.
The city said it had noted the ruling.
Spokesman Nthatisi Modingoane said: "The current applicable tariffs were approved by a full sitting of the council.
"The Housing Department is currently engaging with the Legal Department on how best to take the process forward.
"The process will obviously involve putting together a report and taking it back to the council for consideration and approval."
The Star
Posted at 09:32AM Aug 13, 2015 by Editor in Market |