KZN Social Housing Company wins landmark court victory
Social media was abuzz with some community members protesting, over several years, alleging they had every right to remain at the property without paying rent, as ownership should be handed over to them.
The KZN Social Housing Company has secured a landslide victory at the country’s second highest court, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein against two tenants challenging the possession of property at one of their housing projects, further entrenching their position of providing affordable rental housing for the low to middle income community, and not ‘rent to own’.
Community members, in question, mostly do not qualify for free Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing and do not earn enough to qualify for bank financing to purchase a home of their own.
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Social media was abuzz with some community members protesting, over several years, alleging they had every right to remain at the property without paying rent, as ownership should be handed over to them.
In high court papers seen by the North Coast Rising Sun, before the Honourable Justice Vahed, in September, two years ago, tenants who challenged KZNSHC were directed to restore to their possession the property they resided in.
These tenants were subsequently found guilty of contempt of court for failure to comply with the order made nearly a month earlier.
To add insult to injury, the court dismissed the tenants’ appeal in December 2023, further validating the stance taken by the KZNSHC. The tenants went a step further, seeking leave to appeal the December 2023 judgment at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. This action was dismissed with costs by the above court.
A KZN Social Housing Company spokesperson said, “This judgment serves to reiterate that social housing projects are not for ‘rent to own’, but for quality rental homes in perpetuity.”
The spokesperson confirmed that it is an accredited Social Housing Institution (SHI) in terms of the Social Housing Act.
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Their units are social housing units purely for rental purposes and are regulated by the SHRA. The body further stressed that they distanced themselves from any motion and statements that purport that social housing units were developed with a rent-to-own objective.
Their tenants continue to honour their leases due to the affordable rentals that are charged. The tenants who defaulted on their rental agreements were legally removed by the Sheriff of the Court from the property on Thursday, last week.
