GEORGE NEWS - A resident of Wilderness Heights, Mike Leggatt, questions a R688,18 fine that a property owner in the area received for an illegal second dwelling that Leggatt says has been used for at least the past 15 years.

"The illegal dwelling became known to the municipality only after the owner of the property submitted a subdivision application. In the meantime, the owners have made use of municipal services and the roads for all these years. 

"This fine is outrageously pathetic and will never deter homeowners from building illegally, but rather encourage them to build without approval, and later pay the fine."

Leggatt says the formula used for calculating the fine should not be applied in the rural areas or for smallholdings.

"If this illegal dwelling was in town on a plot of 1 000m², the penalty would have amounted to something like R32 000, which is more likely to deter someone from adding a second dwelling without municipal approval," he says.

According to George Municipality, the fines pertaining to illegal building work are calculated at five times the building plan application fees, or a minimum of R10 000, and a minimum of R5 000 for illegal occupation of buildings without a certificate of occupancy.

"Hence the amount given does not make sense at all and it may be that the complainant has incorrect information."

The municipality asked the complainant to approach the planning and building control departments to get clarity about his complaint.

Leggatt did this, and said the relevant official told him that a mistake had been made. "The bottom line of this is that there are a lot of illegal buildings in Wilderness Heights and something should be done about it. The problem is that building control is more reactive than proactive."

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