Unlawful municipal debt recovery procedures
2009-07-09
IT is with utter amazement that I have read about our Municipality’s latest procedures whereby they unlawfully extract money from tenants who purchase electricity. Imagine buying a bread and the café owner says: “I am going to give you half a loaf only, because your landlord owes me money.” He would end up in the criminal court! The right of the Municipality to attach a debt due to a debtor is not a new one. Any creditor who has obtained judgment against a debtor may issue a garnishee order and attach a debt due by any third party to that debtor. It is also not that one person is held liable for the debt of another: it is a matter of a creditor attaching a debt due to such creditor by a third party. The rent which is due by a tenant to a landlord may be attached to settle the landlord’s indebtedness to the Municipality. But, like all of us, the Municipality must follow judicial process. In other words, once the Municipality has obtained judgment against a landlord who owes it money, it may issue a garnishee order and attach rent due to such a landlord, from a tenant, rent collecting agent, anybody who owes the landlord money. And then the Municipality cannot attach the tenant’s electricity money. It must wait until the rent is due on the first day of the month. They are not entitled to take the law into their own hands and take money from people who purchase electricity, without their consent. That is unlawful money grabbing and borders on theft and fraud. I would recommend anybody who has been subjected to this unlawful action to immediately consult an attorney and lay a charge with the South African Police. The Drakenstein Municipality is well known for its strange procedures. A few years ago they refused to issue rates clearance certificates until such time as they had inspected the property in question, and where any improvements without approved plans were erected on the property, plans had to be submitted and penalties paid before the clearance would be issued. As a result, long delays in the issue of rates clearances occurred, causing losses to sellers, embarrassment to attorneys and frustration to all. The particular section in the Municipal Systems Act provides that where all amounts due to the Municipality at that point in time are paid, a clearance certificate must be issued which will be valid for sixty days. They are not entitled to withhold clearance in order to do an inspection. Only after they have been threatened with a court application, they admitted that they were not entitled to do so. Last month, our honourable Municipality insisted that the rates and taxes which would become due on 1 July for the ensuing year, were paid before a rates clearance would be issued during June. Obviously, they are not entitled to do that as those rates and taxes are due and payable on1 July only. Again, only after threatening them with a court application, they conceded. It becomes frightening when even the authorities do not respect the law anymore (this letter is written under a pseudonym as a rumour has reached our office that the rates clearance applications of attorneys who complain, will be put at the bottom of the pack). Attorney
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