Concerns over illegal building practices in Durban's residential suburbs

The Problem Properties Forum stated that the recent collapse of the New Ahobilam Temple of Protection in Verulam has highlighted that undetected illegal building and land use will lead to tragedy.

Niki Moore, who manages the Problem Properties Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), said they were concerned with irregular property use in Durban’s central residential suburbs.

Moore claimed that they have been warning the eThekwini Municipality, since 2019, about illegal building practices. 

“The Town Planning Department within the Land Use Management unit appears powerless to stop it. We have identified almost 700 properties in the central residential suburbs alone, where irregularities are taking place,” she said.  

In the majority of instances, the issue is zoning, where a residential property is being used to run a business.

Moore said this is leading to a substantial loss in revenue for the municipality. She also highlighted that several buildings have had additional floors added without plans.  

“Unfortunately, Land Use Management has been extremely slow in its investigations and even slower in its enforcement. Complaints from the public are routinely ignored. Apart from constructional hazards, they are often connected illegally to the municipal electricity and water supply,” she further claimed. 

Moore highlighted that in Glenwood, despite a municipality Stop-Work Order issued in June 2025, a property owner and builder continued with the building, which is now complete and is functioning as a multi-unit rental complex, albeit without municipal sanction and compliance. 

“As we pointed out in our correspondence with the municipality, it would be impossible for the municipality now, after years of inaction, to check all 700 properties. We offered to help. We have stressed how they need to start thinking differently about enforcement.” 

Her team has identified several obvious transgressors; however, the activities have continued unabated, and the Building Inspector has handed these over to enforcement, but nothing further has happened.

“Out of more than 100 consistent offenders, not one has been subjected to any kind of enforcement despite years of reporting,” she claimed. 

eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana, said they were aware of the concerns raised by the Problem Properties.

She said that most of the issues highlighted had already been identified and addressed through ongoing inspections and interventions by the Building Inspectorate Branch prior to the submission of the list by the NPO.

“With regard to illegal building practices, the municipality continues to take enforcement action where unauthorised building work is identified. This includes the issuing of contravention notices, initiating rate code changes, and, where necessary, recommending that certain matters be taken to the High Court,” she said. 

The municipality noted the input and concerns raised by the NPO, which are currently under consideration as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen compliance and improve the city’s property rate base.

Sisilana said the municipality currently employs 60 Building Inspectors, organised into 16 teams across the city’s five regions.

Statistics relating to illegal buildings or properties constructed without approved plans for 2025 are compiled at the end of the year once submissions up to December 31 have been finalised.

She said that building inspectors face several challenges in enforcing compliance, including hijacked properties, lack of cooperation or apathy from some property owners, and difficulties in accessing certain properties.

“Municipal research indicates that illegal building activity is often driven by the refusal of planning applications due to non-compliance with zoning or planning controls, as well as misinformation that building plan approvals take excessively long.”

Residents are encouraged to assist the municipality by verifying whether building plans have been approved and by reporting any suspicious construction activity in their neighbourhoods.

Sisilana said that some building work can occur very quickly, such as the erection of carports over weekends, and that properties not easily visible from the street can be difficult to monitor. 

Illegal building activities can be reported to the Building Inspectorate teams operating within the city’s five regions.

Contact details for all Building Inspectors, including the suburbs they cover and their supervisors, are available on the official eThekwini Municipality website at www.durban.gov.za

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