The KwaZulu-Natal Tenants and Homeless People’s Trust say they plan to approach the Constitutional Court as their next step in the fight against water and electricity restrictions by landlords and inadvertently, The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).
This comes after tenants of Garland House in Overport won a case against their landlord for water and electricity restrictions. In the case, ten tenants of Garland House, on Moses Kotane Road formerly known as Sparks Road, approached the Durban Magistrate’s Court after their landlord had restricted their water and electricity supply.
Chairman of the Trust, Dawood Parag, claimed that people who were in arrears with their rent, had these services with-held via the pre-paid meters for electricity and water. According to Dawood, while they have been subjected to such behaviour for years, their legal process began in September 2022 when a tenant of Garland House had her water supply cut off for almost a month due to being in arrears. Another tenant was provided with R30 worth of water after purchasing a R250 voucher. The balance was allegedly deducted to compensate for being in arrears.
“The sad reality is that millions of tenants, particularly the poor and indigent masses, are suffering because of a policy directive by the government watchdog body, NERSA. When you buy pre-paid electricity or water vouchers, part of that sale goes as profit to the landlord. Ever notice that the pre-paid meters are not in the tenants name, but rather in the landlord’s name? That’s because NERSA allows the landlord to make a profit out of your sale. That is not right. If you buy something, you should get the full value of your payment. But here the landlord profits. NERSA was supposed to have protected every consumer, but have instead violated their constitutional mandate by allowing landlords and agents permission to resell vouchers to tenants,” said Parag.
Legal representative for the Trust, Jabeer Moideen of MJM and Associates, said they are in the process of preparing papers for the Constitutional Court. “Broadly speaking, we want to take control away from the managing agents and the owners of the property over the privatisation of meters. Perhaps the intention at the time was very good in the sense that the government would supply power to the owners of the premises, and the owners of the premises can thereafter sell out pre-paid vouchers. Everybody has control of it, and everything is paid. And it won’t be a situation where the tenants incurs a high bill with regard to the utilities and moves out: because everything is pre-paid. So the intention behind the process is somewhat correct.”
“But it became a situation where, the control they had over the prepaid system, was used as a tool by the managing agent in that, previously if someone failed to pay their monthly obligations, what you would do is that you would take the person to court, sue the person and move a PIE application if you want to remove the person. What seems to be happening is that people are trying to take the short-cut approach and circumvent the whole process. Meaning they basically think that if they cut of the supply of water or power, you frustrate the tenant and the tenant would be forced to move. So we don’t have to go court and sue or use the PIE application. This is wrong and unconstitutional. We are not saying that every tenant is right all the time, but we are saying, give it the due process’” said Moideen.
“There is no logic that can justify the existence of this policy directive in the pre-paid system. The tenant must have total control, not the landlords and agents who are circumventing the legal process to legally evict tenants. This needs to be stopped,” said Dawood.
The Springfield Weekly Gazette contacted the property owners of Garland House, Bond Real Estates and they declined to comment.
