South Africa

The Thursday of the 1st of February 2024 saw the assumption of office of new members of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements Rental Housing Tribunal. The term of office of the previous tribunal came to an end on Wednesday 31st of January 2024. With the exception of the returning Chairperson and other members including a University of KwaZulu-Natal based lecturer in Housing, the new tribunal has amongst them two well known KwaZulu-Natal legalese namely Advocate Makhosini Nkosi who is the new Deputy Chairperson and Mpumelelo Zikalala of Zikalala Attorneys. The new Rental Housing Tribunal members were welcomed and taken through various presentations by General Manager responsible for Planning, and Policy Development Mr Lindani Khoza who is currently Acting Director responsible for the Tribunal. At the last Govan Mbeki Awards in November 2018 held in East London in the Eastern Cape, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements Rental Housing Tribunal was awarded with a Lifetime Award for being the Best Performing Rental Housing Tribunal of all the nine provincial tribunals with respect to solving the most rental and residential leases dispute cases. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements Rental Housing Tribunal has since then been hosting various Provincial Rental Housing Tribunals from other Provinces who had come to benchmark and also learn best practices. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements Rental Housing Tribunal was singled out by the National Department of Human Settlements for outstanding performance in solving rental dispute cases during the 2020 Covid-19 hard lockdown as many tenants were battling to keep up with their rental obligations as they were not getting remuneration because of the Level Five hard lockdown. MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works Sipho "KK" Nkosi will soon formally induct and meet the new tribunal members whose appointment also went through a rigorous oversight ratification by Members of the Provincial Legislature Human Settlements Portfolio Committee prior to it being also recommended by the Provincial Executive Council.