INVESTOR INTELLIGENCE
Organised home invasions and / or residential hijacking syndicates are unfortunately on the rise . These syndicates seek to either personally take over and reside on private property , whether occupied or vacant , or blatantly place their own tenants in such properties whilst collecting rental monies from their racketeering .
The new predicament is that syndicates have evolved and become wise as to the application of legislation and the unfair onerous burden placed on property owners , in most cases entailing lengthy litigation in order to obtain costly eviction orders . Not to mention the South African Police Service ’ s clear apprehension to act timeously and in accordance with the law and their own internal directives and standard operating procedures to assist property owners before matters get out of hand and require legal intervention .
Property owners and lawful occupiers are at a disadvantage when it comes to evicting either the syndicates or their tenants .
South Africa ’ s current legislative framework makes it extremely difficult to speedily obtain an eviction order . Not only this , but it seems as though these syndicates deliberately oppose any legal proceedings taken against them , even if they have no justifiable defence to put forward . The reasoning behind this practice seems to be embedded in prolonging and delaying the legal process to their advantage .
Victims of this new trend not only are in a financial predicament when it comes to their legal costs to obtain an eviction order , but whilst your home is unlawfully being occupied and abused for rental income by these syndicates , you are legally bound to continue paying rates and taxes , irrespective of the criminal deprivation you are suffering in respect of your property .
What are your rights ?
The starting point concerning a person ’ s rights in respect of property is Section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , 1996 . No person may arbitrarily be deprived of their property and no law may permit such
82 OCT 2022 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine