Pensioner unable to return home in South Africa for six years — Daily Maverick
In Johannesburg, South Africa, 81-year-old Shirley Markovitz has been unable to return to her home in the Orange Grove area for almost six years after a municipal stormwater collector collapsed at the end of 2020. Part of her house, hair salon and backyard collapsed, forcing the woman to move into temporary accommodation while her home-based business ceased operating.
As Daily Maverick reports, Markovitz and her lawyer Chantel Gladwin-Wood have gone to court several times. The publication writes that the City of Johannesburg failed to comply with a number of court orders concerning the provision of housing, storage of property, security for the abandoned house and restoration of damaged infrastructure.
Court orders
On December 11, 2020, the High Court ordered the city to provide the applicants with alternative accommodation at the municipality's expense within five days for the period of restoration of the damaged facilities and drainage channel. The court also set deadlines for preparing engineering designs; construction work was then planned to begin in May 2021.
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In July 2023, the court ordered the municipality to provide documents requested by the applicants. In October 2025, another ruling ordered the city to settle overdue payments for rent, security and property storage within 24 hours, as well as arrange advance payments to the providers of these services. On October 21, 2025, the court also ordered the city to find suitable alternative accommodation for Markovitz with her participation.
No repair timeline
The Johannesburg Roads Agency told the publication that work on the permanent restoration is ongoing. According to the agency, the project is still going through detailed design, contracting procedures and funding arrangements. The agency added that even after work begins, construction will take approximately another 18 months, and it cannot currently name exact start and completion dates.
Gladwin-Wood, who represents Markovitz pro bono, believes that the city's costs for housing rent, property storage, security and court proceedings have already exceeded what it would have cost to buy the house at the beginning of the case.
