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Residents of Erf 2252, Johannesburg v City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and Others ('Jean Law Court')

Electricity disconnections - Gauteng Local Division of the High Court - City of Johannesburg - Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) - City Power

SERI represents the residents of Jean Law Court which is a seven-storey inner-city building.

The residents have lived in the building between eight and twenty-six years. During the course of living in Jean Law Court as a form of subsidised housing, the residents and the City, through its entity the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), entered into a lease agreement. Electricity formed part of the basic services provided to the building by the City through City Power. The City, JPC and CIty Power began threatening the residents with electricity disconnection between 2016 and 2019 and in September 2019, the electricity supply to Jean Law Court was finally  terminated. The residents then approached the High Court on an urgent basis. In October 2019, the High Court ordered the City to restore electricity supply within 14 days. More specifically, the High Court found that:

“The First and Second Respondents’ termination of the supply of electricity to Erf 2252 Johannesburg (Jean Law Court, 44 Wolmarans Street, Johannesburg) on or about 30 September 2019 is unlawful in terms of Section 4(2) of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 read with Section 3(1) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 2 of 2000, Section 102(2) of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, Section 15 of the City of Johannesburg’s Debt Collection and Credit Control By- Laws;

The First and Second Respondents are ordered to restore the supply of electricity to Erf 2252 Johannesburg (Jean Law Court, 44 Wolmarans Street, Johannesburg) forthwith;

That the parties must meet within 14 days of this order to discuss amounts that may be owing to the Respondents by the Applicants.”

Following the October 2019 High Court Order, the residents then made several attempts to engage the City to discuss the building’s arrears to no avail. Instead, electricity was disconnected again in November 2022 without a pre-termination notice which is required in terms of Section 15 of the City’s own Debt Collection and the Credit control by-laws and in terms of Section 4(2) of the Act, read with Section 3(1) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 2 of 2000.

In August 2023, the residents approached the High Court again to enforce the October 2019 court order and restore the electricity supply to Jean Law Court. On 30 April 2024, the High Court declared the termination of electricity at Jean Law Court unlawful and ordered the City of Johannesburg to reconnect the building’s electricity supply.

Access the following:

  • High Court Judgement (30 April 2024) here.
  • Residents' Supplementary Heads of Argument (28 August 2023) here.
  • Residents' Replying Affidavit (21 August 2023) here.
  • Residents' Heads of Argument (21 August 2023) here.
  • Respondents' Answering Affidavit (18 August 2023) here.
  • Residents' Confirmatory Affidavits (24 July 2023) here.
  • Residents' Founding Affidavit (24 July 2023) here.
  • Notice of Motion (26 July 2023) here.