MOSSEL BAY NEWS - From time to time Mossel Bay Advertiser receives complaints from the public about buildings being sub-let illegally, not for the purpose intended.
The latest complaint is about space being sub-let for people to live in when it is not suitable or safe for habitation and the plumbing or sanitation is inadequate.
A member of the public alleged: "These units do not have certificates of occupancy, yet they have been rented out for many years."
Leased
The building is leased from the municipality by a business.
Mossel Bay Municipality responded to the Advertiser's query about this, stating: "Notices relating to occupation have been served to the lessee of the building in the past. At present, no new complaints are on record, therefore legal services have no instruction and therefore the municipality cannot comment in this regard.
Lease agreement
"The municipality owns the building and has a lease agreement in place. The municipality is currently unaware of other arrangements in place pertaining to the building.
"Notices served previously related to the possibility that a portion of the building was not used for its intended purpose as per the approved building plan."
The municipality's statement read: "Residents are reminded to send enquiries and complaints through the official channels of the municipality.
Channels
"One of these channels is emailing admin@mosselbay.gov.za.
"Through this system, complaints/service delivery requests are placed on record, referenced and actioned to the relevant departments.
"Since January 2024 to date, the municipality received almost 12 000 service delivery requests through its official channels and achieved a completion rate of 98.7%.
"For even greater convenience in logging requests, download the Collab Citizen municipal smartphone application (Huawei AppGallery, Google Play Store and Apple App Store)."
Company
The Advertiser approached the company leasing the building from the municipality and asked it for comment on the claim it was sub-letting illegally.
The company noted: "The municipality is the authority overseeing the compliance and we have not had any unresolved issues brought to our attention."
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