Syndicates running the property hijacking operation in the inner city of Johannesburg have turned the practice into a multi-million rand business.
According to a property consultant, who asked to remain anonymous, syndicates are making up to R10-million a month.
The consultant, who currently has eight buildings under seizure belonging to different owners, said that over the past three years a syndicate had discovered how easy it was to make money from hijacking buildings.
"Subsequently some splinter groups had formed and were copying the hijacking tactics," the consultant said.
They demand an up-front deposit, so make R300 000 in just the first month The syndicate, which is highly organised, monitors all the empty buildings around the inner city. It then sends in bus-loads of armed gangs into vacant buildings, threaten guards with firearms, then starts renting rooms out at between R500 and R600 a month.
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They collect rent for six to eight months knowing that the legal system is slow and, by the time the owners obtain eviction orders, they have enjoyed the benefits of the rents. They then simply walk away, leaving the tenants on the streets.
It is believed that the head of the main syndicate is the brother of a well-known politician, who works with his wife who is an attorney.
They usually go in just before a weekend as in the case of Registry House, which was invaded on the Thursday before the Easter long weekend, knowing that nothing would be done for at least a few days.
"This gives them time to get organised and start advertising," he said.
They demand an upfront deposit of a month's rental so, in a building of 300 rooms, such as in Registry House, the perpetrators make R300 000 in just the first month. They then collect rent at about R180 000 a month and continue doing so until the owners obtain eviction orders.
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