In the recent matter of Body Corporate of the Six v City of Cape Town (2023) ZAWCHC 82, the Cape Town High Court delivered an important judgment which seeks to shine the light on the circumstances under which a Body Corporate or other occupants of dwellings may compel a local authority to enforce the abatement of a nuisance on adjacent properties.
In this matter the Body Corporate of a sectional title scheme applied for an interdict against the City of Cape Town, directing the City to clear the neighbouring site of all illegal occupants and structures, as well as to take measures to abate the nuisance on the site. The land in question had been subject to a land restitution process for over 22 years, yet the transfer of the site had still not taken place.
The Body Corporate claimed that various activities were regularly taking place on the neighbouring site, such as drug use, screaming, public urination and defecation, sexual activity, harassment, assaults, and intimidation of other dwellers in the area.
The court determined that the City of Cape Town had constitutional obligation to all citizens in the area, and that its decision not to enforce by-laws was not rational and / or justifiable. The Court found that the nature, extent, and persistence of the activities described were such that the Body Corporate and other dwellers in the sectional title scheme could not reasonably be expected to tolerate them.
the Court ordered the City of Cape Town to take measures to abate and remedy the nuisance in the area.
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