Property hijacking has surged in South Africa over the past decade, with criminals now targeting residential neighbourhoods.
Previously concentrated in city centres, this issue has spread to urban residential areas, posing new challenges for homeowners and authorities.
Residential property hijacking involves criminal syndicates or opportunistic groups illegally seizing homes, often renting them out to unsuspecting tenants.
These groups forge ownership documents, complicating the process for legitimate owners to reclaim their properties.
Grandi Theunissen, Tshwane MMC for community safety, told eNCA that this trend is particularly prevalent in Gauteng. He noted that homes left empty by owners residing outside the province or country, as well as estates of deceased persons, are especially vulnerable.
Alarmingly, a known syndicate in Pretoria is reportedly working with individuals at the deeds office.
“They quite literally and physically hijack the building and take ownership of the property through their contacts, and the legal owner has no foot to stand on,” said Theunissen.
“I am currently aware of a couple of cases where this has happened, and the hijackers have legal papers from the deeds office,” he added.
The main motivation behind these hijackings is to rent out the properties, often to individuals lacking the required documentation to legally rent.
Efforts are underway, in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS), to weed out corrupt officials within government institutions collaborating with these criminals.
While this trend is relatively new for residential property owners, hijacked buildings have long been a severe problem in major cities like Johannesburg.
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