A South African High Court in Johannesburg has ordered Alfeco Property Investments and its directors, Sachin Ahuja and Ashish Verma, to demolish illegally constructed showers and ablution facilities at a residential property in Alberante, Alberton, after ruling that the company breached municipal land-use and building regulations.

Acting Judge B. Ford delivered the judgment on November 9, 2026, directing the property owner and its directors to remove the structures by December 8. The ruling followed legal proceedings brought by seven homeowners in the gated Alberante suburb over the property’s conversion into what residents described as high-density accommodation.

Residents challenge property’s use

The property, registered to Alfeco Property Investments, is zoned for guest-house use under the City of Ekurhuleni Land Use Scheme, 2021. However, residents argued that it was being used to accommodate dozens of people, beyond what its approved land-use classification permitted.

The dispute began in February 2023, when homeowner Hermanus Jacobus Kriel observed eight double beds and 20 single beds being delivered to the premises. Another 10 beds arrived in May that year. By August 2023, he had counted more than 50 occupants and noticed that showers had been installed.

Municipality identifies building violations

The City of Ekurhuleni’s building control division issued its first notice on August 10, 2023, after discovering approximately 20 showers under construction inside the property. Further notices followed in September and October, but the alleged violations continued.

In October 2024, the municipality issued an unauthorised land-use notice directing Alfeco to stop the prohibited activities, remove the offending materials and restore the property to its original condition within 28 days. A further notice was served in March 2025.

The municipality subsequently imposed penalties of R35,000 and R270,000 in August 2025 for continued non-compliance. Its records showed that Alfeco made payments of R140,141.84 and R200,000 in September 2025. The municipality had also instructed its attorneys in June 2025 to begin court proceedings over the violations.

Court orders demolition by December 8

In its judgment, the court found that the evidence established that Alfeco had breached the municipality’s spatial planning and land-use regulations. It declared the company’s use of the property unlawful to the extent that it contravened the applicable land-use scheme.

Ford also ruled that the showers and ablution facilities constructed in breach of building regulations must be demolished by December 8, 2026.

However, the court declined to compel the municipality to take further enforcement action, finding that it had already issued compliance notices, imposed financial penalties and initiated legal proceedings.

Residents’ wider claims partly dismissed

Alfeco Property Investments (Pty) Ltd is a South African real estate company associated with Sachin Ahuja, the prominent businessman and philanthropist who serves as the founder and CEO of the broader Alfeco Group (Alfeco Holdings).

The court dismissed the homeowners’ broader claims to the extent that they relied on speculative and inadmissible evidence. It also ordered each party to bear its own legal costs, citing the varying degrees of success achieved by the parties in the proceedings.