While the South Gauteng High Court handed a legal victory to the City of Johannesburg regarding unlawful structures at the Marble Towers building, it said that the City still needs to follow legal procedures before demolitions can take place.
The judgment came on Thursday as the City intensified its controversial inner-city "clean-up campaign". The ruling followed days of legal battles between the property owners, Goldenrod Group, and the City over threatened demolition action at the Johannesburg CBD property.
Judge L R Adams found that the structures at the building were unlawful because no approved building plans had been submitted to the City despite repeated notices and inspections dating back to 2022. The court ruled that the Goldenrod Group had failed to comply with municipal regulations over several years and ignored repeated contravention notices instructing the company to regularise the structures and submit building plans.
However, the court also clarified that the City does not automatically have the power to demolish structures without following proper legal procedures, noting that a magistrate's order would still be required before any demolition could lawfully take place.
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The court further found that the Goldenrod failed to demonstrate urgency in its application, with Judge Adams stating that any urgency was "self-created" due to prolonged non-compliance.
The Goldenrod Group was also ordered to immediately stop any further construction or installation of structures at Marble Towers and prevent the occupation of structures identified as non-compliant. The company was also ordered to cordon off unsafe areas within 72 hours, remove structures encroaching on municipal property and submit compliant building plans within 20 days. The ruling comes as Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero intensifies his efforts to demolish illegal structures in the inner city as part of a broader law enforcement operation. Critics view the sudden "clean-up" as electioneering, while the City maintains that it was merely enforcing by-laws.
On 19 May, Morero, alongside Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) and City officials, began what they described as a high-impact service delivery operation at the Marble Towers, which was halted following an urgent court interdict obtained by the building's owners.
The operation followed a similar intervention led by Morero on 12 May, during which the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) enforced by-laws in the CBD by removing illegal traders and demolishing illegally constructed structures, including shacks in Small Street.
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The urgent court battle over the threatened demolition of structures at Marble Towers had previously been postponed after several delays.
During virtual court proceedings on 22 May, the City's lawyer Mphathi Lebakeng told the court that the building's owners had repeatedly ignored the City's interventions and continued erecting structures despite warnings and inspections. According to the founding affidavit, deposed by Marble Towers building manager Grandy Malapane and seen by OCN, the company had argued that the structures at the property were lawful, commercially zoned and occupied by tenants operating legitimate businesses whose livelihoods could be severely affected by demolition action. The City of Johannesburg has welcomed the ruling.
- This story first appeared on EWN.
