- The tenants were evicted from the Casco Centre building in Durban. Their belongings were left out on the street.
- The High Court said the tenants had a good chance of succeeding in their application to overturn the eviction order.
- The tenants were allowed to move back in temporarily while their challenge is decided.
Residents who had lived for years in a Durban building have won some temporary relief. The High Court in the city ordered that they be let back into the property after an eviction that left families and their belongings out on the street.
This case involved 24 tenants living at Casco Centre on Umgeni Road in Durban. After they were evicted on 6 May 2026 by the Sheriff, acting on instructions from the property owner, Chestnut Hill Investments 299 (Pty) Ltd, the tenants urgently went to court.
Many tenants said they had lived in the building since as early as 2009. The property had been converted into residential units with electricity and bathrooms, and residents paid rent to stay there.
The eviction happened during rainy weather. According to court papers, furniture and personal belongings were left on the street. Some residents were at work when the eviction happened, while others were removed from the property at the time.
Dispute over eviction order
The tenants argued that the eviction order, granted in October 2025, should be set aside. They said it was based on a claim that they had agreed to leave by 30 April 2026. They denied ever agreeing to leave and started a rescission application shortly before the eviction happened.
The rescission application was given to the property owner on 29 April 2026, a week before the eviction. The tenants said that even though the landlord knew the order was being challenged, they went ahead with the eviction without warning.
Judge MB Pitman found that the tenants had shown a good enough chance of success in their rescission case to justify temporary protection.
The judge noted that the residents had lived in the building for many years and that important questions were still unanswered about how the eviction order was granted.
One concern was about a municipal report on possibly relocating residents. A previous court order had told eThekwini Municipality to provide this report, but it was never produced before the eviction order was granted.
The judge said, "The tenants have the Constitutional right to housing as enshrined in section 26 of the Constitution."
The judgment also said, "They have a right to the proper and fair use of the PIE law before they can be evicted from their homes."
Court critical of eviction conduct
The court was especially critical that the eviction went ahead after the rescission application was served. Judge Pitman said, "Not giving any notice that eviction would happen after the six months ended was unacceptable."
The judge also noted that families were forced from their homes and left on the street while their legal challenge was still ongoing.
The court found that the residents faced a real risk of homelessness and exposure to crime, especially since the group included children, elderly people, and single mothers.
Judge Pitman concluded that the tenants had met the requirements for urgent interim relief. The judgment said, "Based on all the facts, the tenants have shown there is a good chance of success in their rescission application... "There would have been real and serious injustice if the tenants had not been granted relief."
Legal practitioners referred for investigation
Apart from the housing dispute, the court raised concerns about how some of the people involved in preparing and presenting the tenants' case acted.
Questions were raised about the signing of court documents, the role of a candidate attorney, and the use of an advocate's email address on legal papers.
Judge Pitman ordered that the case be sent to the Legal Practice Council to look into the professional conduct of both the candidate attorney and the advocate involved.
The tenants will be allowed to stay in the building for now, while their rescission application goes through the courts.
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