April 2, 2002
By Thomas Thale
MORE than a hundred buildings around the city are derelict, posing a health and safety risk to their occupants. The City of Johannesburg is taking measures to renovate dilapidated buildings and to demolish those that are structurally unsound. The city has launched two programmes: the Better Buildings Programme to give buildings around the city a facelift, and the Unsafe Buildings Programme to demolish those found to be structurally deficient.
The derelict buildings problem arose over the past decade as businesses moved out of the inner city for the northern suburbs, leaving some buildings unoccupied. The situation was compounded when some owners emigrated or absconded, some sold to slumlords, and others abandoned their buildings, leaving squatters to take over. Some buildings became havens of criminal activity.
According to Brian Miller, the spokesperson for the Landlord Managing Agents Forum, criminal syndicates operate brazenly from inner city and Hillbrow buildings such as Safari Hotel, Heatherdenn, Monsneg Hotel, Mimosa Hotel, The Lloyd, Boulevard Guests, and The Sands. The Mimosa Hotel in Banket Street, Hillbrow has already attracted the attention of the Asset Forfeiture Unit. "These derelict buildings compromise the value of our property, and the council should be doing more to enforce the law," Miller said.
The executive mayor, Amos Masondo, has identified inner city regeneration and the prevention of crime and the enforcement of by-laws as his strategic priorities for the inner city. In line with this vision, the City of Johannesburg has now established a task force comprising four units: Law Enforcement, Building Control / Land Use, Environmental Clean-up and Infrastructure. The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is responsible for convening the Law Enforcement unit in conjunction with the SAPS, SANDF and Pikitup. The aim of this unit is to enforce the by-laws relating mainly to fire, health and building control and to prosecute offenders.
The Unsafe Buildings Programme (UBP) is responsible for identifying bad buildings and instituting court applications to have them demolished. The programme also liases with the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) to decide on the fate of historic buildings - buildings which are over 60 years old and are therefore protected under the law.
This programme includes members from the Building Control Unit which is responsible for inspecting and processing plans for the construction of new buildings and the extension of existing premises around the city.
This programme runs parallel with the Better Buildings Programme which is aimed at attracting private sector investment to refurbish buildings which were poorly managed and not properly maintained. Such buildings are then upgraded and rented out at an affordable rate.
More than 15 structurally defective buildings have been demolished since last year. They include; Greenhouse Hotel and Leighton Court in Berea, Grande Moustache, Nevada Court, 23 Von Brandis and 95 Nugget Street in the inner city, the Mayfair Hotel and the Old Clinic in Fordsburg.
The UBP was established last month to visit and inspect buildings around the city on a weekly basis. These visits are also used to educate occupants about health and safety and making recommendations about buildings that violate the city ordinances and / or by-laws. The programme is made up of members from the departments of health, fire, building control, town planning and police.
They have targeted buildings which do not conform to fire, health and accommodation establishment by-laws. "Our task involves identifying buildings with major contraventions of building regulations and by-laws with a view to taking corrective measures," said Martin New the head of the programme. Of the 20 buildings visited by the committee since its inception, about three were found to require further investigation for structural integrity.
Their recommendations may range from ways to renovate buildings to demolishing buildings with serious structural defects. They may take civil action to compel owners to maintain their buildings or, in extreme cases, institute criminal proceedings.
According to New, in the month that it has been in existence, the programme has found that most of the buildings are "structurally sound, but lack fire equipment and escape routes, pose serious health problems because of standing rubbish and human waste and in worst cases, there is no water or electricity."
This conclusion confirms the findings of the inner city housing stock survey which was commissioned by the Institutional Housing Programme (IHS). IHS appointed Ichut - a consortium of quantity surveyors - to investigate 75 bad buildings around the city and determine the cost of renovating or demolishing them. The survey revealed that most of the buildings require a major facelift. "Almost all buildings are in state of disrepair, partly due to neglect, overcrowding and lack of maintenance procedures," the report says.
The Institutional Housing Programme has been charged with responsibility for establishing the magnitude of the problem and coming up with solutions. Skhumbuzo Ndumndum, project manager of Institutional Housing, confirmed that many of these buildings will be put up for sale to people who will refurbish and hire them out. "Our programme has started bearing fruit. One building, Lake Success in Peterson Street in Hillbrow, is currently being renovated under the Better Buildings Programme." According to Ndumndum, more than 10 buildings are in the process of being renovated under the programme.
The most common problems with the buildings are: lack of proper parking areas, poor maintenance, poor state of lifts, lack of running hot water, overcrowding, inadequate fire-fighting equipment, malfunctioning intercoms, leaking roofs and pealing paint.
The report recommends that most of the buildings be refurbished. Some non-residential buildings will be converted into residential properties. These include Telkom Building, Post Office Building and JHB Karos Hotel.
The worst buildings identified by the survey are Little Roseneath, Garth Mansions and Koch Mansions.
However, the report gives virtually all buildings under consideration a new lease on life. "The structural state of the buildings in the precinct is generally sound and no buildings are recommended for demolition. These defects should be repaired timely before they become detrimental to the safety and function of the buildings."
