People who are being evicted from a low-cost apartment complex in Steenberg on Monday staged a violent protest, burning tyres, bins and rubbish in the street.
Residents of Steen Villa say almost half of them are being evicted for failing to pay rent “which they could no longer afford”.
Parts of Military Road were closed off and the stench of burning tyres filled the air as residents demanded “fair treatment” from complex owners Sohco, a private social housing company.
According to their website, Sohco Property Investments’ primary purpose is the development of quality, affordable homes for low-
income households, and mense who qualify for a
government housing subsidy.
The City of Cape Town’s Maxine Bezuidenhout said Military Road between Prince George Drive and Flora Road was closed, and traffic diverted.
VIOLENT: Mense protested as almost half of Steen Villa residents are being evicted over rent innie Steenberg. Photo: Jack Lestrade
Angry mense burned whatever they could lay their hands on, and when the situation got volatile police used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Police spokesperson,
Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut, says police monitored the protesters who later dispersed and returned to their flats.
He says no arrests were made.
Tina Schoor, speaking on behalf of the residents, says a sheriff of the court arrived early yesterday morning with “heavily armed men” to evict some residents.
“Sohco management decided to get the sheriff of the court here with armed tactical response, K9 dogs and security to evict people on the premises at 7.15am,” she says.
CHAOTIC SCENE: Firefighters dousing flames as angry residents burned tyres and vullis in the streets
“The guys were wearing bulletproof vests and they had shields ready for action. We are not violent people, we just want our homes.
“Most people living here are backyard dwellers and this was suppose to be affordable housing, but we have to pay over R3 300 rent per month. We go through all the proper procedures and this is what we get,” Tina
says angrily.
Chairwoman for the Steen Villa Social Housing Action Group, Beryl Schouw, says people are struggling to keep up with rent and many have fallen into arrears.
“We’ve been fighting since December when we started questioning the high rentals. Every year rental has gone up by an estimated 8.9 percent.
“We have pensioners residing here. Our pensioners were initially paying R850 and seven years later their rent is R3 500.
“We’ve negotiated with Sohco. I asked if they cannot meet people who are in arrears halfway.
“Sohco says people can make arrangements, but they’re not willing to give people an extension. Outsiders are under the impression these people are not paying their rent, but they are. It’s the arrears that have escalated,” Beryl says.
“They charge R100 to put in a light bulb, R100 for a door knob, R350 for a R50 window.
“We have been paying per person for water; they started with R20 per person, which is added to your rent. It sounds like we are troublemakers, we are not.”
She says those being evicted have nowhere to go and will probably end up in temporary relocation areas such as Blikkiesdorp, Wolwerivier or Mamre.
Sohco did not respond to queries at the time of going to print.