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When we downgraded to alert level 4, there was a great deal of confusion around whether or not it would be possible to move house at the end of April.

This created inevitable problems. A number of people who experienced salary cuts or job losses as companies shut down during alert level 5 were stuck in residences that they couldn’t afford.

Others who had signed lease agreements on new homes before the national lockdown found themselves in the difficult position of having to pay rent for multiple properties.

The first set of guidelines published by the government were extremely vague, and only allowed relocation across provincial lines. They then updated the regulations, allowing South Africans looking to move houses or to a new place of residence until June 7 to do so.

Now they’ve updated the regulations again, reports DispatchLIVE.

The government on Thursday repealed its somewhat restrictive “who can move” Disaster Management Act directions published last week and replaced them with a new set, allowing anyone needing to move house or business to do so under level 4, including victims of domestic violence.

You’re now entitled to a “once-off” move across district, metro, or provincial boundaries if you meet the following criteria:

• You are relocating to a new home;
• You need to move because of domestic violence; or
• You need to move your business to a new location.

The June 7 deadline is no longer in effect. You can move as long as the country remains under alert level 4:

Eezi Move, one of SA’s largest independent moving companies, applied to the Pretoria high court last Monday for an urgent interdict forcing government to allow the removals industry to operate under level 4.

The company’s subsequent consultations with co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) department officials led to the publishing of last week’s directions.

Eezi Move is pleased with the amendments to the restrictions and has provisionally withdrawn its court case.

Here’s what you need to move:

• A permit to travel across provincial, metropolitan or district boundaries from a magistrate’s court or the station commander of a police station or a person. The form is part of the Government Gazette 43320 of May 14.
• The relevant lease agreements indicating the date of expiry of the old lease or the date of commencement of the new lease, or proof of purchase of residence and occupation date, or the transfer documents attesting to the change of ownership of property, or a domestic violence order, or proof of change or new occupation of business premises.

If you already have a permit to move in terms of the previous restrictions that were in place, it remains valid and you don’t have to apply for a new one.

Good luck.

[source:dispatchlive]