The North West Rental Housing Tribunal is to embark on a province-wide outreach awareness programme that is scheduled to commence as from Monday, 6 June 2011, in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District.
The objective of the outreach awareness campaign is intended to enlighten the public throughout the province about the nature, power, services and operations of the rental housing tribunal.
In its recent ruling handed down earlier this week during its sitting in Potchefstroom, the tribunal ordered a landlord, Rampai Rathebe and Tlokwe Local municipality to reconnect the supply of water and electricity to a tenant, Itumeleng Taje. This is after it had established that the landlord had misled the municipality into suspending electricity under the pretext that he will be away from the premises for a while.
The Landlord did not disclose that there was a rental dispute between himself and a tenant and that he wanted to inconvenience the tenant.
The Tribunal also ordered that Rathebe should pay for damages sustained by the complainant in respect of perishable foods spoilt as a result of the non-supply of electricity.
It advised the municipality to always satisfy itself that there are no tenants in occupation of properties prior to acceding to requests to cut off services.
The campaign whose focus next week will be at reaching people at strategic points such as shopping malls/complexes, taxi ranks, hostels, libraries, magistrates courts in Potchefstroom, Ikageng, Klerksdorp, Jouberton, Orkney and Kanana Ventersdorp is scheduled to run throughout the June month and into July month.
Enquiries:Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Tel: 018 391 0420
Fax: 018 381 0328
Cell:083 629 1987
E-mail: Lkgwele@nwpg.gov.za or Lkgwele@gmail.com
