Cape Town - A Delft man is up in arms after a house in The Hague that was allocated to him was given to someone else.
After Waleed Heyn was forcefully removed from his home on Gympie Street in Woodstock in 2009, he and his then wife, Georgina Heyn, were allocated a temporary dwelling in
Blikkiesdorp where they stayed until 2010 when they divorced.
“I started staying with Washiema Hendricks in a different part of
Blikkiesdorp in 2010. We had both applied for housing and found out a few years ago that we were
beneficiaries of The Hague project, meaning we would each get our own houses,” he said.
Heyn was scheduled to move into his home at the beginning of May, but was in De Aar in the Northern Cape at the time, attending the funeral of a family member.
“Due to the fact that I was not in Cape Town at the time, my home was re-allocated to someone else, and I initially thought that it was only temporary and that I would still be receiving my home,” he said.
Heyn then received communication from the Department of Human Settlements stating that he had
forfeited his right to the housing unit because the temporary structure he and Hendricks lived in would need to be demolished after he moved.
“Washiema and I are merely
co-parents now and want to go our separate ways, but are now forced to stay in the same home,”
Last week, Hendricks received her housing unit in The Hague and moved in with Heyn and all the children. There are currently close to 10 people in the home.
Mayoral committee member for human settlements Malusi Booi said because Hendricks and Heyn did not update their details to show that they were no longer partners, they were seen as a common law spouses and could not receive two housing units.
“In line with the housing policy, Mr Heyn’s housing opportunity was cancelled and allocated to another beneficiary. It is against policy to have two housing opportunities to be allocated to a man and woman living together as partners/spouses,” he said.
@TheCapeArgus