Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has added its voice to considerations concerning the goings-on across the relocation of the Deeds Office.
Earlier this 12 months, on 25 February, a discover confirmed that the Johannesburg Deeds Office would shut down indefinitely after the Department of Labour deemed the constructing’s elevators unsafe.
Employees had been refusing to climb the steps to the twenty sixth flooring, successfully halting all property-related operations.
Commenting on the resultant chaos, a few days ago, Jason Joffa from bridging finance firm Lamna said: “The closure impacts your complete gross sales course of – all the pieces is caught and folks want their cash”.
Joffa added: “While the Deeds Office strikes to momentary premises, sellers are caught ready for the proceeds they want.”
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This week on Monday, 30 June 2025, the DA mentioned it “was alarmed” that regardless of the current relocation of Development Planning employees, the City of Johannesburg nonetheless has no clear plan to retrieve important constructing plans and improvement information trapped contained in the condemned Metro Centre.
“Access to the constructing stays restricted, and through an unannounced oversight go to on 27 June, no officers on the new Development Planning places of work might affirm how or when these irreplaceable information shall be recovered,” mentioned DA Councillor Daniel Schay, who can also be the social gathering’s Shadow MMC for Development Planning
“These paperwork, some relationship again a long time, are vital for improvement approvals, zoning enforcement, authorized processes, and preserving Johannesburg’s city historical past.
“Without pressing motion, they continue to be liable to additional harm attributable to moisture, vermin, and vandalism.”
During the DA’s go to to the newly established places of work at Newtown Junction, Councillor Schay mentioned he “famous enhancements in employees consolidation”, after months of operational delays brought on by decentralised areas.
However, the brand new website stays incomplete, and officers indicated it might take one other two to 4 weeks to achieve full performance.
While the brand new places of work embrace area for storage and plans to digitise the town’s archives, these are hole guarantees if the City can’t retrieve the unique information.
The Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), which oversees the condemned constructing, has but to supply any viable entry or restoration plan.
The DA calls on the MMC for Development Planning and JPC to:
- Urgently develop and publish a plan for retrieving information from the Metro Centre
- Deploy certified personnel and assets to make sure the operation is carried out safely and professionally
- Commit to a public timeline for digitisation and safe archiving of all recovered paperwork.
Councillor Schay mentioned the DA first raised this concern in Council in November 2024 and can proceed to use stress.
“Preserving these information shouldn’t be merely administrative, it’s basic to good governance, authorized certainty, and investor confidence in Johannesburg’s future,” Councillor Schay.
