Social development owes almost R18 million in rent on leased Sassa facilities

Multiple Sassa sites across the country are operating from properties with rental disputes, invoicing disagreements and unpaid rent. The Department of Social Development (DSD) owes almost R18 million in unpaid rent at multiple properties. One property, a national nerve centre, accounts for at least 92% of the outstanding amount, with other affected sites being service points and regional offices. The department revealed the extent of the issue via a response to a written parliamentary question released this week. Details provided state that some rentals had not been paid for up to three years, blaming the non-payment on unsigned lease agreements. All the properties house services for the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Limpopo, Northern Cape and Gauteng. Lease expired in 2023 Four of the seven affected properties are located in KZN: a local office in New Hanover and service points in Dukuza, Lamontville and Umnini. Rent at the New Hanover site has not been paid since September 2023 and currently has an outstanding account of R503 469. “A three-year dispute persists between Sassa and uMshwathi Municipality regarding billing rates and unratified invoices issued for the Thusong Service Centre lease expansion,” the department explained. The three service points have a combined outstanding rental of R629 896 from rentals last paid between October 2024 and October 2025. “The municipality is incorrectly billing Sassa based on an outdated lease agreement while the new terms await finalisation. “Upon the signing of a new lease agreement and correction of the invoices [and] finalisation of the negotiation with the municipality will determine the payment period,” the department stated. R16.5 million on national Sassa office A local office in Fraserburg in the Karoo Hoogland local municipality owes R10 000 after only recently having its lease lapse, while a local office in the Limpopo area of Nebo stopped paying its rent in September 2024, amassing a bill of R235 000. The bulk of the department’s outstanding rental bill comes from the national records management centre. The department stated that R16.5 million in outstanding rent had accumulated in “three months” and is subject to legal action. “The rental payment has not been effected as there is currently no valid lease agreement. The payment position will be determined upon the conclusion of the legal process and receipt of further guidance from head office,” the department clarified. In each situation, the landlords have been made aware of the non-payment and the reasons, with the department stating no official has been disciplined for any actions relating to the lease agreements. DSD stated that not receiving the leases made it unable to process required invoices, but that automated alerts had been added to existing leases to prevent wider repeats. “Sassa continues to strengthen lease management, contract administration, and monitoring processes to ensure that lease agreements are valid, compliant, and renewed or replaced timeously,” the department concluded.