The Constitutional Court has reserved judgement on the Bromwell Street eviction matter on Tuesday. While, the City of Cape Town and Ndifuna Ukwazi remain committed to their respective stances.
Charnell Commando & Others v The Woodstock Hub & the City of Cape Town
This legal matter relates to the eviction that families, living in rented homes along Bromwell Street in Salt River, are facing. According to Ndifuna Ukwazi, the homes were bought by a developer, who sought to redevelop the property. An eviction order was granted to a private owner in 2017.
“Eviction orders were granted purportedly by agreement against the families but without considering that the families would be rendered homeless and without the City of Cape Town having indicated what emergency housing it could provide to the families.”
Meanwhile, the City’s stance was that it is not feasible to the provide emergency housing to the residents in that specific area, as it has not been earmarked for housing. They argue that there are other areas where social housing is available.
Further to that, Ndifuna Ukwazi argue that the “City of Cape Town’s housing programme and implementation thereof in respect of evictees in the Woodstock, Salt River and Inner City areas, is unconstitutional”.
This has been an ongoing legal battle since 2016/2017. With different courts, ruling in favour of different parties.
The Western Cape High Court in 2021, ruled that the City’s housing programme was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Appeal in 2023 ruled that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to housing in the area of a person’s choice, at the government’s expense. Now, the Constitutional Court will make the final call.
“Once the Concourt has provided its direction, the City stands ready to determine the number of occupants remaining at Bromwell Street, including their socio-economic conditions, before further engagements on alternative emergency accommodation taking into account the currently available options.” – Carl Pophaim, City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements.
