WATCH: Derelict houses- havens for criminal activity

Merebank residents are fed up with derelict houses in the community, which are not only affecting the value of their palatial homes, but are also being used as hideouts for criminals.

The deteriorating houses, which have been abandoned for many years, are an eyesore and have become havens for criminal activity.

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Residents have described these properties as a health hazard and a danger to society because young and impressionable children have been watching the appalling activities occurring in these houses.

Community activist, Sharin Rajman, said, “We are disappointed that these derelict and abandoned homes have turned into criminal hideouts, especially the house on Sholapur Place. The house is near the Warangal Road shopping centre and you find that high school pupils bunk school and hide out in the house to consume drugs and alcohol. There is even prostitution that happens in this house.”

Rajman explained that they had tried several times to contact the homeowner but to no avail. She stated that if these homeowners did not want these houses, they should rather look to donate the properties to religious or non-government organisations, who were looking for facilities to run their operations.

“That would be better than leaving the property abandoned because you get rodents and vagrants lurking in these dilapidated houses. It also brings down the value of the other properties in the area. I am appealing to the media, community leaders and residents to get together to clean up our area because it has now become an area filled with whoonga boys and drug addicts,” she added.

Twenty-five-year-old Mishen Sirriam commented that it has been a nightmare living next door to the abandoned property on Sholapur Place.

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“People come here daily and smoke drugs. Homeless people, who have nowhere to go, use it as a shelter. There are constant fights and they cause raucous till the early hours of the morning. People get drunk and start stabbing one another. We contacted the police but no one does anything. We also called the homeowner and he doesn’t seem to care. They will come and clean the house maybe once in six months and then we don’t see them after that,” he said.

A frustrated Sirriam added that they don’t know what to do anymore because if they decide to sell their house in future, the price will be very low because no one will want to live next door to a drug den.