THE Milnerton Central Residents’ Association has ripped into a Cape Town by-law that makes it possible for property owners to have three dwellings on a plot that originally housed just one.
The association says the implementation of the municipal building by-law has increased the number of boarding houses in Milnerton.
The by-law, signed into law in 2019, allows for a single residential property to have a dwelling house together with domestic staff quarters and two further dwelling units on the plot, together with outbuildings.
This by-law, which allows for densification, is applicable to larger plots as well as smaller ones, where accommodating numerous structures could prove challenging.
Now the residents’ association is calling for stricter regulation of boarding houses.
“We want boarding houses to be properly controlled and, where they are operating illegally – in other words, within a SR1 (single residential dwelling) zoning – they should be stopped, unless they are rezoned to a different zoning category, such as GR2 (general residential), which allows boarding houses as a primary right,” said the association’s Stuart Hofmeyr.
“What we are finding is that this law is being abused by greedy landlords whose sole aim is to squeeze in as much single-room accommodation as possible.
“Numerous bedrooms with en suite shower rooms are created within the dwellings and in the outbuildings, changing the nature of these single dwelling houses to that of a boarding house.
“Because the rezoning process is an arduous task, we see many dishonest applications where rooms are indicated as having en suite toilets and showers within outbuildings, and which are clearly intended to be offered for letting. However, these are given names like ‘home gym’ , ‘domestic quarters’ or ‘entertainment room’,” said Hofmeyr.
Hofmeyr called on the City’s land use directorate to closely monitor building applications.
“Where dishonest applications are suspected, affidavits from the owners should be sought stating under oath that rooms will not be rented out to lodgers effectively operating the property as a boarding house,” Hofmeyr added.
“We have also found the City's land use enforcement section ineffective in taking on owners whose properties are being used in this manner in contravention of the (municipal by-law).”
The Milnerton and Sanddrift ratepayers’ associations said they were already busy with litigation against those already misusing the by-law.
“We are not challenging the legislation itself in court at the moment, even though it’s a poorly drafted piece of legislation with many flaws. The drafters did not envisage the negative practical implications that it would cause for communities, one of those being allowing three dwellings on a single residential property,” said the Milnerton Ratepayers’ Association’s Liete van der Eems.
“It paves the way for overcrowding and uncontrolled densification without requiring the necessary municipal infrastructure. We are not against densification as such. However, we believe in ‘densification with dignity’.
“We are currently commencing with legal action against a property owner who is illegally converting several properties in our area into boarding houses (against the zoning scheme and in contravention with the by-laws).
“One of the reasons we have to take it on is because the City has made no significant progress in actually enforcing the by-law, and owners like these get away with it. The by-law doesn’t contain effective or efficient enforcement mechanisms.
Van der Eems called on legislators to engage more constructively with communities when formulating by-laws.
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis hit back, saying boarding houses were regulated by Cape Town’s planning regulations.
“It is already the case… boarding houses operating illegally should be reported to the planning department so that enforcement action can be taken,” Hill-Lewis told Weekend Argus.
Sandra Dickson from lobby group Stop CoCT said the City should get its house in order and deal with this issue.
“Yes, they say they’re regulating it, but it should be properly regulated,” Dickson said.
“We can’t have people contravening the by-laws and doing as they please.”
Weekend Argus.