Redevelopment of Cape Town's Founders' Garden clears last hurdle The first of a series of regeneration projects to be rolled out over the next few years has been approved by the Western Cape legislature. The project, approved last week, will see the Founders' Garden, a piece of land next to Artscape Theatre on the Foreshore, being sub-divided and redeveloped … [Read more...]

Retirement village developer fights human rights ruling The Human Rights Commission has found that a company running a Gauteng retirement village contravened the law by excluding villagers in decision-making. But the company says the commission is not qualified to adjudicate in the dispute. Residents of a retirement village in Modderfontein, Gauteng, are … [Read more...]

Sharemax property investors misled by 'copy-and-paste error' Sharemax's directors told their auditors they made a "copy and paste" error in the prospectus of the Zambezi property syndication that misled investors about the security of their investments. This is revealed in the latest determination by Noluntu Bam, the Ombud for Financial Services Providers, … [Read more...]

Controversial Zwaanswyk property rezoning goes ahead Zwaanswyk residents are crying foul after a Cape Town management committee recommended the approval of a new upmarket housing development despite overwhelming opposition - and say the rezoning application was procedurally flawed and contradicted the council's density policies. The Allandale Holiday … [Read more...]

Environmental outcry over Knysna property developer's 'conflict of interest' Knysna residents are up in arms because a company headed by a controversial developer has been given the contract to draft the official municipal plan determining where development can take place in this Garden Route town. Some residents have said it is "incomprehensible" that the … [Read more...]

Another swindling claim against Property Rescue Two weeks after the Western Cape High Court ruled in favour of a Bellville woman who was swindled out of her home by a debt rescue company, another woman - allegedly a victim of the same company - is preparing to take her case to court. Weekend Argus reported last Sunday that Bellville pensioner Engela … [Read more...]

Luxury Gupta property drops R16 million in Joburg valuation roll The Gupta family's main residence - a mansion on three levels on a large piece of land in one of Johannesburg's most expensive suburbs - has been valued at only R490 000 in the latest municipal valuation roll. The Gupta family's mansion in Saxonwold was once valued at R16.89 million. This is … [Read more...]

Prime cricket pitch being rezoned for Durban North property development A prime piece of land in Durban North, owned by Durban High School, is being eyed for a multimillion-rand development that could see it being turned into corporate headquarters, a housing development or a retirement village. This piece of land in Durban North, owned by Durban High … [Read more...]

Durban rates backlog persists Irate Durban homeowners, who have been waiting for their rates clearances to be passed by the eThekwini Municipality, may have to wait a little longer as the city clears the backlog owing to a computer upgrade. Thabo Mofokeng, the municipality spokesman, said the municipality's rates clearance system had been down for about a … [Read more...]

Silver Lakes Golf Estate to write off stolen millions More than R7 million, allegedly defrauded from the Silver Lakes Golf Estate by its bookkeeper over 16 years, will be written off, management has said. Homeowners' association board chairman Dr Steven Pretorius said the money would be written off against capital reserves and no special levies would be … [Read more...]

Joburg undertakes to solve water meter backlog Joburg Water(JW) has launched a new project that will replace customer meters to address the backlog in faulty meters. JW has appointed seven contractors - Bluestone Trench Technologies, FA Civils, Letswamotse Civil Engineering, Mapitsi Civil Works, Sakhile Projects, S Monamodi and Daughter and Sydwell Shabangu … [Read more...]

Joburg council responds to Bosmont residents' water complaints The problem of rising water in the Bosmont area is to be investigated at last, thanks to the intervention of Metrowatch. A house in Bosmont. Residents say their properties are losing value because of the water levels. Residents have been complaining for years that the area is waterlogged, with … [Read more...]

Property rezoning paves way for Cape foreshore redevelopment The DA used its majority in the Western Cape provincial legislature to approve redevelopment of piece of land adjacent to Artscape Theatre on the Foreshore without stipulating exactly what the redevelopment would be. The ANC opposed this approval and said the title deed of the erf, known as … [Read more...]

Cape Town experts trash R140bn mini-city property development The rationale behind the proposed development of R140 billion mini city Wescape has failed to convince civil society groups and seasoned academics, with some saying not much consideration has been given to the safety and security of residents who may live there. At a discussion this week about the … [Read more...]

SA properties getting smaller The latest available building statistics from Stats SA show that more new homes are being built - but that they are getting smaller. "On an annualised basis, the total value of new residential buildings completed rose 25% in January and February, while the value of building plans passed for new homes rose 20,5%," notes Rudi … [Read more...]