FACED with eviction from their home, to make way for office space, a Salt River family now has had to resort to erecting a shack underneath a nearby bridge.
On Monday Nooraan Dreyer, 42, along with her husband Riedewaan, 43, received an eviction notice from the sheriff of the court, giving them notice in terms of a court order to vacate their home by 10am yesterday.
The Dreyers are the last remaining tenants of a previous landlord who had sold their home last year to a new owner. Since then the family have battled to remain in the home, fighting to stave off eviction.
Nooraan said they were unable to find any affordable places and the alternative, moving to Blikkiesdorp, would be realised once space became available.
“After going to court and even mediation with the council, the landlord’s attorney and our legal representative came to an agreement to leave by November 2015. My eldest son and his two-year-old daughter had to move out already.
"Some places also turn us away because we have young children and this time of year there aren’t many long-term leases available,” said Nooraan.
She said they found new legal counsel who tried to negotiate another stay of eviction yesterday as they tried to make alternative arrangements.
“Now we have no other choice but to live in a shack under the bridge, next to the Salt River station.”
She said besides the safety concerns, there is no sanitation, electricity or running water and she feels completely helpless but hopes her new lawyers can stave off their eviction for a while longer.
The current landlord,Gulam Allie, did not respond to any communication and his lawyer, Abdurahman Khan, spoke on his behalf.
“My client has received the request for an extension but is unwilling to grant this request.
"We gave them another three days after the sheriff delivered the final notice, as it was the human thing to do(sic),” said Khan.
“We are sorry the Dreyer family could not find alternative arrangements but they were given proper notifications and were quite aware they needed to vacate,” said Khan.
Last night the Dreyer family were still awaiting the completion of their shack and had earlier sent their two granddaughters to their other grandparents for the time being.