Sewage flood triggers long-awaited relocation of Joburg Deeds Office

Relocation plans are underway following the sewage flood at the Johannesburg Deeds Office, the Johannesburg Attorneys Association (JAA) has confirmed.

This follows video footage seen by Moneyweb showing a leaking parking area at the building, initially assumed to be water but later confirmed to be human waste.

Read: Joburg Deeds Office floods after ignored warnings

“It was definitely sewage. The stench was unbearable. The maintenance company said it came from the outside toilet on the ground floor of the building,” says Karla Strydom, a committee member of the JAA property committee. 

She notes that the JAA had been raising concerns with the deeds registrar for years about the building’s uninhabitable conditions, but it took a sewage flood to prompt any action.

In a statement, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development conceded that the facilities and environment present occupational hazards to the department’s employees and present safety concerns for clients.

The Johannesburg Deeds Office registers on average 12 000 deeds a month.

Relocation, finally?

Strydom confirmed that they have received communication indicating that, on 1 September, staff at the Deeds Office are expected to relocate to an interim building while construction is completed on a new facility in Anderson Street, Marshalltown.

She says the new building will probably be finished in 2026, at the latest 2027, if everything goes according to plan. 

“The new building has been in construction for over five years. There were difficulties with contractors but all seems on track now,” says Strydom.

In March, Moneyweb reported that a decision had been made to relocate the Johannesburg Deeds Office to an alternative building within six weeks. 

However, the move never materialised.

Read: Joburg Deeds Office will be relocated within six weeks – PSA

A letter by the JAA, dated 29 April, addressed to Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Director-General, Ramasodi Mooketsa, Chief Registrar of Deeds Carlize Knoesen, and the Registrar of Deeds in Johannesburg, Makaziwe Ntuli, detailed the building issues that have made it untenable.

Read the full letter here.

After the department snubbed the relocation request, the JAA said the conveyancing profession might pursue a court order to compel the move.

Read: 
Government flip-flops on ‘indefinite’ closure of Pretoria Deeds Office [Apr 2023]
Conveyancers up in arms over problems at new Pretoria Deeds Office [Apr 2023]
Pretoria Deeds Office confronts new building problems [May 2023]

“In the meantime, they’re urgently exploring other options before the move to the new building. From what I’ve heard, the challenge is that the interim lease is relatively short – only 12 to 18 months – which has made the process more difficult,” says Strydom. 

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