Vacant properties across Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal have become a serious public safety concern, with abandoned homes reportedly being used to store stolen goods, consume and deal in drugs, and shelter unlawful occupants.
Community policing representatives, private security personnel and a local ward councillor have warned that unsecured properties are placing surrounding residential neighbourhoods at risk, particularly in parts of Ward 5.
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Speaking to Newcastillian News about the growing problem, Newcastle Community Policing Forum (CPF) spokesperson Sandile Mdluli said derelict structures represented a substantial threat to community safety.
“These properties are frequently exploited by criminal elements as hideouts, storage points for stolen goods, and as places to consume and deal in narcotics,” he stated.
Beyond their alleged use for criminal activity, Mdluli explained that vacant homes situated near occupied properties could provide individuals with opportunities to observe residents’ movements and routines.
This, he warned, could enable burglaries and robberies in surrounding neighbourhoods.
However, he acknowledged that some of the properties also become informal shelters for vulnerable and desperate individuals, complicating both the security and humanitarian dimensions of the issue.
According to reports received through CPF structures, the suburbs experiencing the greatest strain include Ncandu Park, Barry Hertzog Park and Amajuba Park, with the problem largely concentrated in Ward 5.
“These areas have seen a cluster of related problems — break-ins, drug use, and general neglect of vacant properties — that residents have flagged repeatedly as an escalating safety concern,” Mdluli noted.
Newcastle Municipality Ward 5 Councillor Musa Ndlovu confirmed that unlawfully occupied houses had become an urgent concern within the ward.
He said he and a local team had recently cleared a vacant home in Ncandu Park after people had established themselves inside the property.
Apart from the unhygienic condition of the house, Ndlovu said he was particularly concerned by the quantity of antiretroviral medication and medication used to treat bipolar disorder that was found on the premises.
“I took it upon myself to clean the house, and ARVs and bipolar medications were found in bulk, which I believe these people are using to smoke. The big question is, where are they getting the medication?”
Newcastillian News could not independently verify where the medication originated or how it had been used.
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Nevertheless, Ndlovu further claimed that the items found inside the house suggested its occupants had been involved in opportunistic theft in the surrounding area.
“Just looking at the amount and type of clothes I found in the vacant house I cleaned, these individuals are even stealing people’s washing,” he stressed.
Magenta Security‘s Jan van Rensburg agreed that deserted homes were being occupied rapidly, often before neighbouring residents fully understood what was taking place.
“If a person moves out today, the house will be occupied within a week by illegal occupants, and the first thing they do is strip the house of all its copper pipes. They then start monitoring neighbouring properties, and learning people’s routines,” said van Rensburg.
He explained that private security personnel frequently assisted when unlawful occupants had to be removed from vacant properties.
However, he claimed that delayed responses from local police officers remained a major operational obstacle.
“We reported an incident not too long ago to the SAPS, after a vacant property near Mediclinic Newcastle was illegally occupied, and all we got told was that they only had one van, but they would be able to send a van after three hours,” said a frustrated van Rensburg.
While van Rensburg called for a stronger operational response from the South African Police Service (SAPS), Mdluli said the CPF supported a coordinated approach involving several government departments and community structures.
Among the measures proposed by the CPF is the creation of an updated municipal register of vacant and abandoned properties.
Mdluli said this should be accompanied by stronger enforcement of bylaws requiring owners, including absentee owners and representatives of deceased estates, to secure and maintain their properties.
The CPF also recommended regular inspections and targeted patrols involving SAPS members, CPF representatives, ward councillors and other relevant government officials in areas where vacant properties are repeatedly associated with criminal activity.
According to Mdluli, the Municipality should intervene more quickly when properties remain unsecured or fall into prolonged disrepair. This could include engaging directly with owners or pursuing legal measures to compel them to secure and maintain the premises.
He further stressed that law enforcement action alone would not resolve the problem.
Greater cooperation between SAPS, social services and public health authorities was required to assist homeless and vulnerable people living inside abandoned structures.
Residents were also encouraged to report suspicious activity around vacant properties before unlawful occupation or criminal activity became entrenched.
Mdluli additionally proposed that immigration officials participate in relevant joint operations where there were legitimate concerns about immigration compliance. This followed reports received from residents regarding foreign nationals allegedly living in some abandoned properties.
Newcastillian News approached both Newcastle SAPS and the Newcastle Local Municipality for official comment on the extent of the problem and the measures being considered to address it.
However, no response had been received at the time of publication.
In the interim, Councillor Ndlovu confirmed that he had compiled an inventory of vacant properties across Ward 5, including homes in Barry Hertzog Park, Ncandu Park and Amajuba Park.
He said the information had been submitted to the Municipality’s Human Settlements Department. While awaiting formal feedback, he had also escalated the broader concern to KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer.
“I am further writing to him regarding state owned properties in town that are also vacant, so that a proper investigation can be conducted and a permananent solution be found,” concluded Councillor Ndlovu.
The accounts provided by the CPF, private security and local leadership point to a recurring pattern in which vacant homes are allegedly occupied, stripped of valuable materials and used to support further criminal activity.
Concerns range from the storage of suspected stolen property and the theft of copper pipes to drug activity and the monitoring of neighbouring residents’ routines.
However, the situation also involves vulnerable people who may be using abandoned buildings as shelter, meaning that any sustainable response will require both enforcement and appropriate social intervention.
With the matter now formally escalated, attention will turn to whether the Municipality, SAPS and relevant provincial departments introduce a coordinated response—or whether residents will remain exposed to a problem that community representatives say is continuing to intensify.
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