Thousands of Johannesburg inner-city residents occupy buildings in conditions like those that led to the fire at 80 Albert Street that killed at least 77 people. They are living in derelict multi-storey buildings, former office blocks, sectional title buildings, tenements, warehouses and factories.
The residents are mostly informal, unsalaried or poorly paid workers. Some are unemployed or on welfare grants. They can’t afford even the lowest priced formal rental or social housing in the inner city. Even if they could, they would be excluded by high demand and low supply.
The accommodation they can access frequently lacks running water and sanitation, security, ventilation, lighting and formal electricity.
