A Lavender Hill family living in a Wendy house is fighting an eviction from a council-owned property and say they have nowhere else to go.
The family say they’ve been living on the property for 20 years, but things went south when their brother was evicted from the house in Frere Court for allegedly smokkeling drugs.
Three years ago, the City boarded up the house but Gavin van der Vent and his wife Huisbrecht, 41, stayed on in their Wendy house in the backyard.
The couple have four children of 21, 18, 10 and eight.
The 10- and eight-year-old have now been placed into foster care while the 18-year-old attends a special needs school, because of the appalling conditions at home.
They only have a trickle of water, and there’s no toilet.
Gavin and Huisbrecht are now fighting an eviction notice at the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court and are begging the City to allow them to move into the house.
A letter from the Human Settlements department says the Van der Vents are being evicted due to their alleged involvement with skollies.
The couple denied these allegations and Huisbrecht, who broke her hip in an accident last year, says Gavin is a handyman.
“If I want to use the toilet I must go to my cousin.”
Community leader Clive Jacobs is helping the family fight the eviction in court, and say they live in “inhumane conditions”.
“We are asking the City to allow them occupancy.”
Councillor Stuart Diamond, Mayoral Committee Member for Assets and Facilities Management, said the couple were served with an eviction notice in May.
“The matter was referred to the City’s Legal Services Department for further action.”