Ana Capri, a block in one of Durban’s most notorious inner city slums is being turned around in a pilot study by national residential property managers Trafalgar that empowers owners to rehabilitate their own properties.

"Its early days, but the signs of success are very good," says Trafalgar CEO Neville Schaefer. He is operating similar pilot studies in Pretoria and Johannesburg

"We have owners and tenants committed to a very tough programme, which if they win through can change the face of the inner cities."

Schaefer says Durban Council’s inner city unit Itrump was also considering incorporating the Ana Capri into its ambitious inner city area based management projects. This includes co-operation between buildings to revitalise areas like Albert Park (of which Ana Capri is a part), training of sectional title trustees and regeneration of areas. "Their work is unique in SA local authorities and makes the success of our programme more possible," adds Schaefer

He says dysfunctional sectional title bodies corporate have been the major cause of inner city decay in South Africa over the last 15 years. Banks started lending to black inner city buyers and agents started selling to them and ignored buyers’ total lack of ownership experience.

"Many buyers were unaware of their monthly levy obligations until the first levy statement was pushed under their doors," says Schaefer. "This doubled their monthly costs, which most could not afford.

"They quickly started defaulting on both bonds and levy payments. Or they brought in tenants and overcrowded their flats to improve income. That was the start of the rot."

Schaefer says incompetent or dishonest managing agents, followed by gangsters intent on hi jacking the buildings’ income streams added to the decline. Order broke down and many owners fled their properties. Municipal debt built up. Banks withdrew from lending and prices collapsed.

Schaefer says a discussion with inner city investors and journalist Ian Fife led to the rehabilitation plan. "We were concerned that most of the action taken by banks and local authorities destroyed, rather than recovered value. We thought there must be a better way."

The proposed method, he says, is quite simple: get judicial control of the building then start working with owners and occupants on a plan to return their building to normal. This involves identifying and training leadership; reaching agreement with municipalities and banks to a rehabilitation plan; introducing proper credit control and recovering arrears.

"This is all hard work. But the hardest part is getting owners’ trust, persuading them that their destiny is in their own hands and, with our help, they can not only fix the property but build their own wealth at the same time."

He says Ian Fife initially ran the plan and is heading the Ana Capri programme, but is training local people to run the programme..

He says the inner city problems are overlaid with prejudice and gossip that make them worse. "We were told that gangsters had taken over Ana Capri, calling itself the body corporate," says Schaefer. "They were the nicest gangsters we have ever met – a nurse and a teacher – who were eager to work with the owners and us on upgrading the property.

"It turns out they were informally appointed as a body corporate by Mr. O’Connor of the city health department who was worried about the deterioration of the building since most owners abandoned it. They have been working hard to maintain the building with no help from anyone."

He says there are gangster operating. People who illegally take over flats and let them out or divert the rent from tenants by threatening them unless they pay over."