Tenant-Landlord Relations,the Anti-apartheid Struggle and Physical Decline in Hillbrow,an Inner-city Neighbourhood in Johannesburg

This paper examines the role of tenant-landlord relations in the physical decline of apartment blocks in an inner-city neighbourhood in Johannesburg that had undergone a racial transition during the height of the anti-apartheid struggle. It is argued that apartment blocks owned in their entirety by small landlords were most likely to be characterised by inadequate maintenance, decline and tenant resistance. Tenant resistance, however, rather than stabilising apartment blocks, often had the effect of intensifying the spiral of decline in the apartment blocks affected. The strategies adopted by tenants to resist landlords perceived as exploitative were influenced by the anti-apartheid struggle during the period.