College Tries to Evict 27 Families to Make Way for Students

• About 27 families may be evicted from Villa Bianca, a block of flats owned by Ekurhuleni West TVET College in Germiston.
• Some of the families have lived in the flats for decades, and claim they were allocated to them as low-income housing.
• They say rentals have been hiked to unaffordable amounts, and that the college had also attempted an unlawful eviction, and cut off water and electricity for a period of time.
• Students in need of accommodation recently protested, demanding the residents be evicted by the college in “24 hours”.

Ekurhuleni West TVET College students in Germiston, Gauteng, recently protested over the non-payment of their NSFAS fees and a lack of student housing near campus. In that protest, a memorandum was read out that demanded the eviction of tenants living in Villa Bianca, a block of garden flats owned by the college, within “24 hours”, to make way for more student accommodation.

About 100 people in 27 households are living in Villa Bianca. Residents we spoke to say they were allocated their flats as low-income housing on a rent-to-own basis by a private owner in the early 2000s. But they are unable to produce any record of such an agreement. The lowest rentals were R810, depending on the size of the flat.

Things changed, they say, after the TVET College bought the block in 2006. They pay rental to a property management company that represents the college.

Sharp rental increases followed. One letter of notification dated 26 September 2023 informs a tenant that their rent will more than double, increasing from R1,750 to R3,880 on 1 December 2023.

The tenants said they went to the Gauteng Rental Housing Tribunal but the matter was never finalised.

Many residents are now in arrears for large amounts.

In January they were served with a notice to vacate the flats by 31 March as the flats are to be converted to student accommodation. They have refused to move.

Itumeleng Diba, a resident of the Villa Bianca apartment complex in Germiston, has been living in his apartment for 18 years.

Community representative Itumeleng Diba, who has lived at Villa Bianca for 27 years, says the college attempted to unlawfully and forcefully evict them using a private security company. Their electricity was also cut off for a month in June and their water disconnected from 27 June to 10 July.

On 8 July residents filed an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg to restore services.

While the hearing was taking place, residents who remained at home said armed, private security personnel broke down doors to their flats and manhandled occupants, attempting to forcefully evict them.

Returning to court on 11 July, residents reported that water was restored. They asked for an amendment to the interdict to prevent the college, its staff and security guards from forcefully evicting them. They claimed rights under the PIE Act.

But the matter was removed from the roll as water was restored, the judge was told the doors were fixed, and their papers were filed too late.

Subsequently, private security again visited the premises, peacefully this time, and asked the families to vacate the block. They also received further notices from the college and its attorneys to vacate by 23 July.

A notice from Libea INC Attorneys, representing the college, states that the tenants are unlawful occupiers since April 2024. It said failure by residents to remove all belongings and turn in the keys by the required date would result in legal proceedings, including but not limited to an eviction application.

Ivy Mbulo, who has been living in her apartment for over 20 years, shows her windows, she says were broken by security guards employed by the college.

The residents

Pensioner Ivy Mbolu has lived in the block for 27 years. She says when she moved into her flat, she was told that it was on a rent-to-own basis. The rent started at R810 and eventually increased to R1,800. She says her rent was then hiked to R4,500 in 2022. She was unable to pay the full amount but paid R2,000 every month until January, stopping when she received an eviction notice.

Mbolu received a statement stating that she owes R51,000. Her windows and doors were broken during the eviction attempt. She says she was manhandled and pushed to the ground. Her windows and doors were not repaired

“The college has refused to speak to us and hear our concerns, insisting on evicting us. I don’t want to lose my home,” said Mbolu.

Meanwhile, the college has erected a wall at the block and is busy installing gates in preparation to turn the flats into student accommodation.

Siqiniseko Mbatha, chairperson of the Student Representative Committee, said students had asked for years for the flats to be made available for students, but nothing had changed.

GroundUp sent questions to Germiston West TVET College Principal Molifi Israel Mabe on 11 July, but he did not respond. During a telephone conversation on 14 July, he said the college’s legal representatives had advised him against commenting.

An advocate representing the residents, L. Mhlanga, said that at this point there is no formal eviction application, “all we had to deal with is the constructive eviction by the college”.

“We will oppose an eviction on the basis that the flats have widows and people with no source of income, who cannot even afford legal fees. The City will have to provide alternative accommodation to those who will be rendered homeless and destitute.”

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