Routine bank auction turns into year-long housing nightmare for Joburg property owner

A Johannesburg man claims that he has been locked out of his own home for more than a year after buying the property at a bank auction, highlighting the long and costly eviction process facing homeowners. 

Mashila continued paying the bond, rates and taxes while being denied access to the home. 

"I tried to negotiate with her, and tried to offer some alternative arrangements. The property has some bedrooms, which I said she could use while I'm busy doing the renovations on the property, and she never took that. Then I had to go to the attorneys to try to assist me with the eviction process, because obviously that was what she was calling for. She said she was not going to leave the property unless she got an eviction order from the court. So, I approached the attorneys."

Mashila explained that legal action has also stalled, with eviction costs quoted at around R180,000 for early stages alone, forcing him to change attorneys and restart parts of the process.

He said the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act, meant to protect vulnerable occupants, has worked against lawful owners. 

"It is quite a disadvantage because I don't think they care whether you're paying for the property, rates, taxes, and the water that the illegal occupant is using. It all falls on your name because just after the property registration, I had to open an account at the municipality, and the rates and taxes started coming to my name. Whereas the occupant is not paying anything. There's nothing that they pay for, except the electricity, because it's prepaid electricity."

The case has drawn public attention after the former owner, well-known actress Gcina Mkhize, appealed for sympathy on social media. 

"It really complicated the matter. I never wanted to go public or to attract a lot of attention to this matter. I wanted to sort of resolve it with her, but it actually didn't work. 

"I've seen the posts on social media where she was kind of framing herself as a victim. It's quite a strenuous situation because obviously I didn't want to engage with the public in terms of this, because the case is in the court of law."

To listen to Mashila in conversation with 702's Bongani Bingwa, use the audio player below: