Residents
of Communicare facilities such as Rosehaven in Durbanville are under no
obligation to vacate or accept any once-off cash incentive to vacate their
homes.
Michelle
Matthee, stakeholder relations manager, made this very clear when TygerBurger
approached her about the fears of Rosehaven tenants that they will be evicted.
About
50 elderly people are renting units at Rosehaven – some for as long as 27
years.
These
residents were upset about a letter in which they were offered a cash incentive
if they agree to vacate their unit by the end of July. The letter states they
have to accept this offer by 29 June.
This,
while they are already facing a 9% increase in rent from 1 July.
One resident whom TygerBurger spoke to said it was stated in the letter that
Communicare subsidises rent to give their tenants the financial support they
need. “There are many people who need this support but we only have limited
finances to facilitate this. To make sure that these subsidies continue to
reach those who need them the most, we will soon be assessing the incomes of
all of our subsidised tenants,” stated the letter.
“We … will enter into new leases with all
those who have sufficient income to pay more so that others can go on
benefiting.
“They
will also have the option to find alternative accommodation, perhaps with
family or friends …,” was stated in the letter.
They
were offered once-off cash incentives of between R2000 and R5000, depending on
what rate they pay.
One
tenant, Susan Kroese (87), originally from Bellville, has been living at
Rosehaven for 27 years and was the first tenant to move into the newly built
complex.
Another
tenant, Gene Hanekom, who is in her 90s, said the uncertainty is the worst.
“Only if I knew what rent they will charge me, will I know if I can stay on or
not. I was evicted from Northern Rhodesia, then Namibia; now it seems they want
to kick me out of Rosehaven after 10 years. My children are all overseas; it is
not an option to go there,” she said.
Bokkie
Snyman, chairperson of the Rosehaven social committee, has been staying at
Communicare complexes for 18 years – first
in Hermanus and now for the past 11 years at Rosehaven.
“We
cannot get through to the call centre for more information. Why can they not
come out and explain things to us?” she asked.
Elizabeth
Hutchesson (81) has been staying at Rosehaven for 12 years. “Staying with my
children is not an option as they are downsizing themselves,” she said.
Another
tenant, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she was too upset to open her
letter. They were all worried that they would have to pay rent of R4200 for a
bachelor unit, or R4700 for a one-bedroom unit – the rate at which vacant units in the complex are advertised.
Matthee
said Communicare will have an advertorial published in various editions of this
week’s TygerBurger “to provide some insight and clarity into the recent changes
and the incentives being offered by Communicare”.
“The
incentive offer is completely voluntary and there is no obligation to accept or
to vacate. Should anyone choose not to accept the incentive offer, no further
action is required from them and we will not be giving them notice to vacate.
“We are aware that there is some confusion and tenants may be
misled by gossip and assumptions regarding the letter received. We sent out a
SMS to all tenants who received the letter to clarify.
“We will also meet with our senior tenants over the next week to
explain and set their minds at ease regarding the process,” she said.
New Communicare housing
opportunities are also in the pipeline.
“We are working hard to develop
1300 new rental units in four planned developments that will be implemented in
the next one to five years.
“Two of these projects, in Salt
River and Bothasig, will be implemented in partnership with the government and
will add more than 600 new social rentals. These units will be rented at lower
rates than those charged for similar units in the same neighbourhoods.
“About another 700 units will
be added in three of these projects that will be rented out at the same rates
that other landlords use.
“These units will only become
available in stages over the next five years, starting from October 2019,” she
said.
At the same time, Communicare
launched the “goodfind Properties” brand in May this year.
‘This brand manages all our
units rented out at the same rates as similar units in the same neighbourhoods
– often called market rates.
“We have developed this brand
to make sure that we can offer all these tenants rentals at competitive prices
with great service,” Matthee said.
“The new brand is engaging
directly with each of these tenants about how they are affected by the recent
changes and about plans for improving their properties.
“To make sure that it (the
subsidies) reaches those who need it most, Communcare will later in 2018 verify
the incomes of tenants in those complexes where rental subsidies are provided.
“Before doing this we have
already offered small cash incentives to tenants of all ages in about 19
complexes who may choose to give notice at the end of June,” she said.
The incentive offered to each
tenant is different as it is based on their current rental which is different
from one tenant to the next.
“All these initiatives will
help us to improve and build on our success over the past 80 years and help to
relieve the housing crisis in our communities,” she said.
Matthee advised tenants with
further questions to call the call centre toll-free on 0800 266 737 from
Mondays to Fridays between 08:00 and 16:30, or email
incentives@communicare.org.za.
