Cosmo Repos soared to more than 190 houses during recession

Cosmo City of Tenants

The investigation into the repossession of houses in Cosmo City has uncovered a massive 188 houses that were said to have been unceremoniously repossessed and auctioned at the Krugersdorp’s Sheriff. The turmoil that was happening in the economy was never considered by the banks and the human aspect was seemingly disregarded in the manner these repossessions were being conducted. This is in sharp contrast with what the banks say about how they use/see repossessions as the last resort. In earlier reports this paper reported that all four banks say repossession is the last resort after all avenues to assist their distressed clients have been exhausted. In the many instances of the 188 house repos discovered so far, (tip of the iceberg) it appears houses were fast tracked to the Sheriff’s office for auction apparently to a few well connected bidders styled “Investors”. Some such investors are said to own up to 30 or sixty houses each, fast turning Cosmo City into a place of tenants.

The complaints coming out of the investigation are being compiled for further investigation. One old lady (in her 60s) had her house repossessed without her being fully aware that her house was being taken away from her. She even eventually went to the auction to try and buy her house back only to be told that her house had been sold the night before. The old lady’s belongings were eventually thrown in to the street in a humiliating eviction. In other cases, due to varying circumstances, victims would be paying amounts less than the prescribed instalments but still would lose their homes. In the other cases, seemingly the majority, victims would be refused to make payment arrangements but instead were asked to either pay the whole 3 months arrears or an increased instalment for them to serve their homes from being repossessed. We have also heard complaints of files being reconstructed after not being found in the courts registry, and complaints of court documents/writs which signed off homes to auctions without officials (judges) even seeing the victims.

In a recent article written by the African News Agency, the secretary general of the SACP Blade Nzimande raised his organisation’s concerns about house repossessions saying “It was estimated that around 10 000 homes a year were being repossessed by the banks. This level of eviction can only be comparable to apartheid-era group areas removals. The homes are then sold at auction, very often at a fraction of their market value. The worst case scenario involved a house sold at R10, and a house taken away for nothing but corruption involving the concoction of title deeds; the owner was dispossessed and jailed for a while. All this is inhuman,” Nzimande said at the launch of the SACP’s Red October campaign.
“The SACP would raise with the National Treasury the whole processes relating to bank repossession of people’s houses with a view to instituting an investigation. The SACP is calling for corrective regulatory and legislative steps to build a humane system of handling these matters in a way that puts people first.” Nzimande concluded by saying the “The SACP would also ask Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to institute an investigation into the whole process of authorisation of house repossessions.
Cosmo City, as a case in point, has raised this matter with various institutions, including the Department of Justice. The investigation will soon be handed over to experts. We are worried by the silence from the Sheriffs’ Board who did not bother to respond to critical questions since February this. A new Sheriffs’ board of directors was appointed in March this year by the Minister of Justice Michael Masuta. “In line with the Department of Justice’s commitment to transform the sheriff’s industry, Minister Michael Masutha has appointed 11 members to serve on the newly constituted South African Board of Sheriffs.

In terms of the Sheriffs Act (Act 90 of 1986), the Minister is responsible for the appointment of sheriffs, as well as the appointment of the chairperson of the board. “The board comprises six male and five female members from various provinces in the country,” Department spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said then.

There is one major question which we asked the Sheriff and she refused to answer “ How many Cosmo houses were sold in execution at that office” to date we have not received an answer. The institions which should be shedding light to this matter are shutting their doors as if they are hiding something – that is what makes want to see whats inside.