Johannesburg is safer than Cape Town according to the Most Violent Cities Report.

 

The past two years saw a few notable improvements to South Africa’s reputation abroad: we hosted a very successful Fifa Soccer World Cup, Table Mountain officially became one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and Cape Town will be the 2014 World Design Capital. 

This week sees another boost, of sorts: it transpires that, contrary to the stereotype of darkest Africa, South Africa is not high on the list of the most dangerous places to visit.

The Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice (an NGO in Mexico) released their report of the 2011, 50 Most Violent Cities in the World (link: http://emergingterrains.com/investmentnews/mexico/the-most-violent-city-in-the-world-is-in-honduras-mexico-has-five-of-the-top-10/). 

The report focused on urban areas with more than 300 000 inhabitants where murder statistics are available. The Council then looked at the murder rate per 100 000 people. Arguably not surprising is that the top 5 cities are all in Mexico. In fact 40 of the 50 most dangerous cities are all in Latin America.  

What does come as a surprise to many is that Cape Town, beautiful, laid back Cape Town comes in at number 34, Port Elizabeth at number 41, Durban takes the 49th place and Johannesburg the 50th slot. Had anyone locally had to make a guess a week ago, Johannesburg would almost certainly have come out heading the list.

As such, while it is by no means commendable to make a list of the most violent cities in the world – being lumped together with established dangerous zones like Ciudad Juarez in Mexico or Cali in Columbia – Joburgers might have been pleasantly surprised and one could forgive them for sharing a snigger or two at the news. 

The City of Gold might not have a world famous mountain or the ocean but, it is a great town for doing business in and, one could hope that people’s perspectives on how dangerous it is might be altered, even if ever so slightly, by the news that it’s not quite Sodom and Gomorrah.
 
Of course, first prize would be not having any area of South Africa on the list at all but, in the meantime the silver lining might be that prospective property buyers will take another look at Johannesburg. “Joburg is a fantastic city brimming with opportunities for entrepreneurs. It vibrates with energy and is a great place to live. It’s worthwhile taking a look at the local property market and this news can’t hurt”, says Jan le Roux, CEO of Leapfrog Property Group.

 

PROPERTY IN JOHANNESBURG - CPA

Since the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act in South Africa there are many more services that you can expect from an estate agent when looking at properties in Johannesburg. The Consumer Protection Act is however not just there to protect you but the rights of a property owner as well as the obligations and responsibilities of the estate agent. With all these new rules in place property may be a bit more complicated to come by but at least every party in the transaction knows exactly where they stand. The Consumer Protection Act relates to both rental properties in Johannesburg as well as properties that are for sale. Properties for Sale and the Consumer Protection Act There are two main ways in which the Consumer Protection Act affects properties for sale in Johannesburg. In the past buyers who put an offer in to purchase a property were obligated to finalise the purchase and could not change their minds. The first way in which the Consumer Protection Act protects potential property buyers is by providing a five day period in which they have the option to withdraw an offer to purchase. Once this five day period expires the buyer is obligated to purchase as before Before the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act all properties in Johannesburg and in South Africa were sold ‘Voetstoots”. This is no longer the case and the owner as well as the estate agent must point out any defects or problems with the property before an offer is made. The owner is then responsible to make any necessary changes or repair and can alternatively cover the costs of any necessary work on the property. Rental Properties and the Consumer Protection Act There are numerous ways in which lease agreements have been changed according to the regulations in the Consumer Protection Act. The most important of these changes is that no lease agreement may have a term of longer than 24 months or two years. After the expiration of the period the property owner and renter can come to an agreement to extend the lease period for another two years. Prior to the Consumer Protection Act there was no way out of lease agreement for either the Lessee or Lessor unless both parties agreed to terminate the agreement. Now however the renter and the owner only need to give a 20 day notice that they will be terminating the agreement. However, the owner can only give notice of termination if the Lessee is in any way in contravention of the lease agreement. There are many more factors that have changed with regard to the leasing of immovable properties in Johannesburg. Whether you are a property owner or wish to rent a property it is very important to make sure you know about these factors and how they will affect your rights and responsibilities as they relate to the rental property. Your nearest estate agent should be able to assist you in ensuring that your rights are covered whether you are renting or buying a property.