Cape Town - It has been five months since the City of Cape Town undertook to help an elderly Bo-Kaap tenant take ownership of the Chiappini Street property she has lived in for 47 years.
But Latiefa Fagodien is still waiting and time is not on her side. She turns 80 on November 18 and says all she wants is for the house to be put in her name.
“A lady from the council came to fetch me to go and fill in some forms. She said she would bring them back but hasn’t come yet,” Fagodien said.
It also turns out she won’t be given the title deeds - she will have to buy the property.
Benedicta van Minnen, the city’s mayco member for human settlements, said the tenant would have a chance to buy the house, “potentially, it could be at a reduced rate”.
“As a pensioner, she may qualify for a subsidy and other discounts, which will be investigated on conclusion of the sale. No further details are available at this stage and the process going forward should not be pre-empted.”
After the Cape Argus exposed the appalling condition of the house with its broken floorboards and a collapsing ceiling in March, the city undertook to renovate the building which dates back to the 1800s.
It is one of around 20 similar properties in the area, and was expropriated by the then council under the Slums Act of 1934.
The owners were “permitted” to stay and were charged a minimal rental in exchange for losing ownership of their homes, according to a city statement earlier this year.
Fagodien’s crumbling, derelict house has since been transformed with new floors, a repaired ceiling, and has had electricity installed for the first time. The house has been painted a brilliant orange which fits in with other brightly coloured Bo-Kaap properties.
But while the bathroom was also revamped and a clear roof sheeting ceiling put in to let in the light, they failed to put in a shower which means Fagodien has to wash in a bucket and throw the water into the toilet.
Fagodien said her neighbours were all talking about the house. “But all agree it needs a shower.”
When asked if the lack of a shower was an oversight and would still be put in, Van Minnen said: “The renovation was undertaken to ensure the structural integrity of the house and not to effect improvements. The possibility of installing a shower is being investigated.”
Van Minnen added building plans for the renovated house had been prepared and were in the process of being submitted to Heritage Western Cape for approval as part of the required heritage permit application process.
“The city will enter in to a sale agreement with its tenant as soon as all the legalities around the heritage permit application have been completed and approved.”
Cape Argus