A retired couple, said to be living on a state pension but who allegedly received income from renting out the premises which they are renting to a nudist colony over weekends for extra money, was evicted after they fell into arrears with their rent.
The owner of the property situated in Meyerton, the estate of the deceased owner, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to have Dewalt Ryan and his wife Doris Ryan evicted.
The application was brought under the provisions of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Occupation of Land Act.
The couple opposed the eviction application and said they had a lien over the property from certain improvements made to it.
The court was told that in March 2017, the now deceased husband of Margaret Wood sold the property to a new owner.
The terms of the agreement apparently included that the respondents (the couple) should be given occupation of the property, subject to them paying R8 0000 rent a month for the first six months and thereafter R10 000 a month.
The parties agreed that if the respondents failed to pay occupational rent, the rental agreement would be cancelled.
The couple moved in during June 2017, but they allegedly failed to pay rent. In January 2022, the applicant (the estate) served them with a letter of demand, but to no avail.
They claimed that due to the “fraudulent” sale agreement, there was no rental agreement in place. The court, however, concluded that they were unlawful occupiers.
The couple said they were pensioners reliant on government’s old-age pension grants. The court said they provided scant information about their circumstances and their ability to rely on family and friends for assistance if they were to be evicted.
The only evidence before the court in this regard was that they said it would be difficult to leave the property they lived in for seven years and that they had spent their entire savings on the property.
According to the applicant, the respondents were generating income from the property by renting it out over weekends and were proprietors of a nudist resort from which they generated a lucrative income.
Acting Judge PJM Mogotsi noted that the respondents failed to deny these assertions in their answering affidavit. “I have no reason to doubt the same. Consequently, I find that they might not be rendered homeless should they be evicted and have the means to find alternative accommodation,” the judge said.
He concluded that the respondents had no contractual right to occupy the property and were unlawful occupiers.
Pretoria News