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WCape’s Rental Housing Tribunal readies for virtual operations

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 05 Jun 2020

The Western Cape’s Human Settlements Committee says the Rental Housing Tribunal will take up virtual operations as of next week, as the country remains under COVID-19 lockdown.

The housing tribunal is a free service that is mandated to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.

In a statement, DA Western Cape spokesperson for human settlementsMatlhodi Maseko says the tribunal normally sits three times per week, but to address the backlog, it will sit for five full days per week in a virtual setting.

“We are encouraged by the fact that the Rental Housing Tribunal will resume its operations virtually during the nation-wide lockdown. Due to the uncertainty at this time, over 950 cases are in backlog. It is therefore critical that the tribunal resume its work.”

Maseko emphasises the backlog of cases will be prioritised, as these relate to matters which took place in April and May. “During lockdown, the tribunal was, however, able to resolve a number of cases through mediation between landlords and tenants. Thus the risk of an overwhelming backlog was mitigated.

“The Western Cape Rental Housing Tribunal is the first in South Africa to resume operations on a virtual basis. As a result, tenants and landlords are able to maintain social distancing practices whilst also moving forward in the resolution of their grievances. We are proud to embrace technology in this forward-thinking, proactive manner.

“We look forward to monitoring the work of the tribunal and anticipate that swift steps will be taken to promote its online work in line with the need to address the existing backlog.”

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