Durban - The eThekwini Municipality is desperate to get some of those who own low-cost houses and who can afford to pay for services to pay up.
The chairman of the housing committee, Nigel Gumede, said only a fraction of those living in RDP houses paid rates.
The city’s policy is that people in properties worth less than R150 000 should not pay rates, but Gumede said some of those living in low-cost housing in townships could well afford to pay their rates.
Some had made major alterations and upgrades and others had sold their units and bought other properties.
“We understand that most of the beneficiaries cannot afford to pay and some are declared as indigents, but only a fraction of those who have the means do pay,” he said.
Gumede said some of the residents had bought houses but there was no transfer of the title deed.
“You will drive by and see a double-storey house where there use to be an RDP one, but the person who lives in it is not the one we send the bill to, because the title deed has not been transferred.
“So when the bill comes they just ignore it.”
Gumede said the sale of low-cost houses posed a double problem for the city not only in terms of rates but it also increased the number of properties for which plans were not approved.
Beneficiaries are supposed to get permission from the local housing authority before renovating or extending RDP houses but many have flouted this rule.
The matter was first discussed by council in 2011, but Gumede said his committee was yet to be given authority to investigate the matter further.
“These challenges are not unique to eThekwini but we need to find a way to investigate how these houses were sold and who are the rightful owners so that they can be accountable.”
The city has 250 000 low-cost housing units and Gumede said some were in the names of people who lived outside the city area.
He could not say when they would embark on the investigation, but the matter needed urgent attention because the “irregular” sale of low-cost homes was becoming more prevalent.
“We need to regularise these houses. In the meantime, we urge all of those whose properties are worth more than R150 000 to come forward so that we can address the issue of their rates before the municipality conducts its own investigation.”
KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesman Msawakhe Maysela shared Gumede’s sentiments, saying people should own up to their responsibilities and pay their rates.
“This is happening on a big scale. It’s causing municipalities to limp, because people hide behind ‘indigence’. The municipalities need the money collected from rates to perform some of their functions.”
The Mercury