The Constitutional Court heard a case that pits the rights of new owners of previously neglected inner-city buildings against tenants to be evicted after its sale, in its sitting on Wednesday.

The case centres on new building owner William Mailula's attempt to evict tenants from a building he paid R3.6 million for.

His lawyer Rob Cohen told the court that he contends it was a bona fide sale through an estate agent, and he was surprised to later hear there were allegations of fraud relating to the sale.

The ownership issue will be determined by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), but in the meantime, the tenants want the Constitutional Court to void the eviction order set to be carried out on December 10.

Mailula says he will lose his building if he cannot generate income from it and pay his bond, and is already in arrears for R1 million for utilities.

Cohen said Mailula would suffer greater harm than the tenants because although they were poor they were paying rent and so were not the poorest of the poor, and could rent elsewhere.

He however, would lose his property.

The court adjourned until Thursday for a decision and asked both the tenants and the owner to propose a solution on interim rental and utilities payments, pending the SCA decision.

Source: Sapa