Belhar residents say they are gatvol of waiting for houses at a complex that was built seven years ago.
Sylvia Vergotine said her name was on the list for the Pentech housing complex on the corner of Edison and Cambridge Roads in Belhar four years ago but since then she has been bouncing around homes.
“Right now I have to move between family and stay in rooms while I must also pay rent, it’s not right and I also have a 34-year-old son who is in a wheelchair.”
The 55-year-old said her son Ashley was shot in his spine during a robbery in 2010 and was left paralysed.
“He cannot move with me all the time so he is staying at a home in Hanover Park where he must also pay rent but when he comes home on weekends then he begs me to call somebody to get this house issues sorted.”
Meanwhile other residents have taken action by occupying nine of the houses.
Rushka Anrith, who has been living at the Pentech complex for the last nine months with her husband and four children, said the families who invaded the homes have been served with warning letters from the city last week.
“The place we lived by before was very bad because people were doing drugs and some of the children were sexually assaulted. When we moved into this house, the housing department came here and said the place was badly vandalised so they came to fix it and even gave us keys but now we get threats to move.”
Mayco member for human settlements Malusi Booi said the occupiers have 30 days to vacate, while outstanding constriction is the cause of the long wait.
“The department is in the process of procuring a contractor to complete the outstanding works at the project. The city has sent updates to the project’s beneficiaries and will be in contact with them once their opportunities are ready to be handed over.”