A dispute between Buffalo City Municipality and owners of a sectional title complex in King William's Town over an outstanding rates and water bill has left the building's tenants in the dark.
The tenants of Monlu Court are without water and electricity after the council pulled the plug on them as a result of the long-standing dispute.
Erik Mare, one of the Monlu Court's body corporate trustees and landlord of two tenants, slammed the municipality's move saying it affected innocent tenants. "This is unfair to the innocent tenants who have to sit in the dark without water."
Mare, who is also an attorney who invests in properties, said the squabble between the local authority and the body corporate of the 12-unit complex dated back a few years.
He said at the time he bought the units there had been no structured body corporate.
"The bulk water services and rates had not been paid for some time."
The electricity supply, however, is based on a prepaid meter system.
Mare said he suggested to the managing agents, ERA Sun, that the body corporate be rehabilitated and said an effort was made to settle the arrears.
"We approached Propell Levy Solutions, the only company willing to finance body corporates, and obtained an R87000 loan from it in exchange for cession of the levies," he said.
Mare said the loan taken at prime plus 8% interest - forcing each owner to repay a special levy to Propell - was raised to settle the amount the municipality said it was owed to it at the time.
"We had a meeting with Buffalo City's chief financial officer Brian Shepherd and Allan Harris, who is in charge of all disconnections, and Leon van Wyk. We agreed on that amount.
"But when we wanted to pay it over the municipality said the amount was now R140,000. When we queried it during another meeting the amount given to us was R250,000. We then had a problem. The owners already had taken a punch once in obtaining the Propell loan.
"We suggested that in good faith we would deposit R30,000 until such time the account had been sorted out. This never happened."
Mare said as a result of the dispute the tenants in the complex - only two owners live in the building - are now being penalised.
"Some are being blocked from buying prepaid electricity. And four weeks ago the municipality installed a restrictive water pipe, which means if one tenant flushes his toilet the rest are without water."
ERA Sun's Leon Savidis said the last time he heard from the municipality Harris told him the municipality would issue a summons against the body corporate.
"We would welcome that. That would give us the opportunity to defend the matter."
Mare said the body corporate might use the remaining funds of the loan fighting the matter in court.
Harris would not comment yesterday, but the Daily Dispatch learnt that Buffalo City had instructed its lawyers to issue a summons against the body corporate.
Daily Dispatch
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
