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Real Estate: SABC Sea Point property to be repaired

Cape Town city council has won a legal battle to oblige the owners of an abandoned property at Sea Point west of the city centre to take care of its maintenance.

The property in question is Rocklands Villas, a row of once charming period flats with heritage value belonging to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Located behind the SABC building in Beach Road, the buildings once housed the corporation’s staff members before being abandoned. They are now home to squatters and drug dealers and have become a centre for crime.

The city council asked SABC to resolve the problem on numerous occasions before taking it to court.

At the end of December 2009 the high court ruled that SABC must repair, clean and repaint the buildings and prevent any further occupation of the premises. Should the corporation fail to comply with the court order the sheriff is authorised to carry out the necessary work on its behalf and then reclaim the costs incurred.

The city council says the ruling represents a milestone in efforts to deal with problem buildings in the Mother City. It anticipates a new piece of local legislation, the so-called Problem Building By-law, which will make it easier to deal with property owners who allow their buildings to become a problem in their neighbourhoods and which is due to be approved shortly.

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