## Facts

- Bon Vista Mansions is a block of flats in Hillbrow, Johannesburg whose residents depended on a municipal water connection.
- On May 21, 2001, the municipal water supply to the building was cut off.
- Residents attempted for about three days to resolve the loss of water through the premises manager/landlord without success.
- Residents brought an urgent application seeking interim relief compelling the local authority to restore water pending determination of final relief.
- Residents alleged the disconnection was unlawful under the constitutional right of access to water and under the Water Services Act 108 of 1997, which regulates discontinuation of water services.
- The local authority raised preliminary objections concerning authorization/standing, correct citation of the respondent, and short notice given the urgency.

## Issues

1. Whether an urgent interim application could proceed despite informal authorization and representation of multiple residents by a single deponent.
2. Whether the matter should be dismissed for mis-citation of the responsible municipal authority or water service provider.
3. Whether the application was sufficiently urgent notwithstanding very short notice to the municipality.
4. Whether residents showed the elements for interim mandatory relief based on a prima facie right to continued access to existing water services and limits on discontinuation under constitutional and statutory law.

## Decision

- The court dismissed the preliminary objections to standing/authorization, citation, and notice given the extreme urgency created by total loss of water.
- The court held it was sufficient, for interim urgent relief, that the deponent was a resident directly affected and could act in his own interest and for a group or class of residents.
- The court rejected the mis-citation objection because the actual service provider responsible for disconnection had notice, appeared, and showed no prejudice.
- The court granted interim relief ordering the municipality to restore the water supply to Bon Vista Mansions pending final determination of the application.

## Legal Principles

- In urgent applications seeking interim relief to prevent ongoing rights infringements, courts may relax ordinary procedural formalities where the affected persons face immediate and serious harm.
- Constitutional standing permits a person to litigate in the interests of a group or class of persons where they share the same interest in the relief sought.
- Technical defects in citation do not defeat urgent relief when the responsible authority is before the court, has notice, and suffers no prejudice.
- The constitutional right of access to water, together with the state’s duty to respect protected rights, supports a prohibition on arbitrary interference with existing access to essential services.
- Discontinuation of existing municipal water services is subject to statutory and constitutional constraints; interim relief may issue where applicants show a prima facie right, irreparable harm from continued deprivation, a favorable balance of convenience, and no adequate alternative remedy.

## Conclusion

The court ordered urgent restoration of an existing municipal water supply, treating the deprivation of water as inherently urgent and holding that both constitutional rights and the Water Services Act impose prima facie limits on unilateral disconnections, while also applying a flexible approach to standing and procedural objections in emergency conditions.


Residents of Bon Vista Mansions v. S. Metro. Loc. Council, 2002 (6) BCLR 625 (Witwatersrand Loc. Div. 2002)