DURBAN. — A family, which lived in a Newlands East property for more than 12 years without paying rent, has been ordered to vacate the home.
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg found that their lease had been lawfully cancelled.Judge Sibiya ordered HP, her husband YI, together with their five children, to leave the premises by October 15.
If they fail to comply, the sheriff has been authorised to carry out the eviction from October 20.
The couple was also ordered to pay the legal costs of the application.
Long-running dispute
The case concerned a residential property in Newlands East, Durban, owned by FMHC Rental SA NPC, which is under business rescue. The couple, who are respondents in the application, had occupied the property with their children under a lease agreement concluded in 2014.
According to the judgment, the parties have been involved in extensive litigation over the property since 2014.
The court heard that the couple had not paid rent since 2014.
A previous eviction attempt ended in the courts after the applicants cancelled the lease in 2014 without giving sufficient time to remedy the alleged breach.
In 2019, the High Court found that the 2014 cancellation had been unlawful because it was premature. The eviction application based on that cancellation was dismissed.
However, the latest case was based on a new breach and a new cancellation of the lease in 2025. — IOL.
