By: Natasha Archary
A pensioner who used R900 000 of his pension and savings to build a block of flats has been forced to demolish his retirement plan of being a landlord.
Retired police officer Nyepane Shilane built the block of flats in his back yard in Germiston, but did not follow the correct procedures and went ahead with the building ignoring the city’s by-laws.
As a result, Shilane’s neighbours reported the matter and the Gauteng High Court has since ordered that the pensioner has to demolish his structure.
Kaya Drive with Sizwe Dhlomo discussed the unfortunate turn of events for the pensioner, and asked whether municipal by-laws should be reviewed or not?
“R900 000 is a lot of money, for a pensioner that’s even harder to just see go up in smoke, literally. It’s sad.”
However, not everyone shared those sentiments, with Mbali Dhlamini sitting on the other side of the fence, reminding people that by-laws are in place for a reason.
“Especially in a residential area, you can’t just decide you’re going to use your backyard as flats or apartments. Those structures need to approved properly, because you’re using one source of water, one source of electricity. If the structure is too high, you’re blocking your neighbours sun, rules are in place for a reason.”
Sizwe also pointed out that a zoning certificate needs to be issued which would indicate what one can do with their land and how to do it.
According to zoning specifications, a building to land ratio will tell you how much of your land you are allowed to develop or build on.
The following factors come into play when building on your land:
– Coverage, % of land your building can physically cover (on the ground)
– Height, no. storeys allowed
– Parking Ratio, no. parkings
– Building line, how far from the boundary wall you can build
– Density, no. res units/hectare (ha)
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
Also read: The meaning of debt to income ratio and why is it important
