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Elderly couple, son and grandchildren saved from unlawful eviction

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Imagine being elderly and frail, yet forced to sleep in a house with all the doors removed. This is what happened to Mrs Joanne Wienand of Cradock, in the Eastern Cape. Mrs Wienand and her husband; an elderly couple suffering from chronic illnesses, as well as their older son and two grandchildren moved into their younger son’s flat that he was renting at the time. The younger son moved out to stay in another area and left the rest of the family to continue living there with the existing lease. They continued staying there for a couple of years, paying rent, when the owner of the property verbally told them to vacate the premises by the following week as he wanted one of his employees to stay in the flat. When Mrs Wienand, who uses a walker to get around as a result of her chronic illnesses, her husband who suffered a stroke and cannot easily attend to his affairs, their son and minor grandchildren failed to move out within the required week, the landlord sent people to remove all the doors in the flat.

Mrs Wienand came to the Cradock Satellite Office of Legal Aid South Africa asking for assistance with her impending eviction. After a consultation, the Cradock Office provided her with copies of Section 8 of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act (19 of 1998) and Section 4 of the Rental and Housing Act (50 of 1999) and advised her to bring these to the attention of the landlord when he next returned in order to demonstrate that she is aware of her rights and that he was in fact violating same. The Cradock Office simultaneously processed an application for legal aid in order to protect the applicant’s rights and those of the children involved.

The Paralegal who processed Mrs Wienand’s application for legal aid, Amanda Mdaka, and Civil Senior Legal Practitioner Andile Tshona from our Graaff-Reinet Justice Centre, promptly went to inspect the property and discovered that the family’s rights and safety were being compromised as all the doors had been removed. Mr Tshona obtained an urgent court interdict to restore the client and her family to their previous position, including having the doors to the house fitted and being protected from unlawful eviction.

Two days after the interdict was served, the landlord sent people to install the doors in the flat, returning Mrs Wienand and her family to the position they were in prior to the removal of the doors and threat of eviction. They are now staying peacefully in the rental home and the landlord has taken note that he has to follow proper legal procedures to get the flat back. “We are pleased that even though the landlord is a rich, powerful and a respected businessman in the area, we have proven that everyone is equal before the law,” says Andile Tshona

Legal Aid South Africa is the defender of rights of the poor and vulnerable and its civil work places special emphasis on protecting and defending the rights of women, children and the landless as well as providing legal advice. The public can visit the 21 Offices situated throughout the Eastern Cape or call the Legal Aid Advice Line on 0800 110 110 to obtain legal advice and representation in civil matters, including evictions.

Mrs Wienand who found herself having to spend the night in a house without doors
Mrs Wienand who found herself having to spend the night in a house without doors

Author: Abongile Tyopo
Website: http://www.legal-aid.co.za

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