Marble Towers owner and Joburg strike court-backed deal to avert further demolition

The City of Johannesburg and Marble Towers owner, Goldenrod Group, have reached a court-backed agreement aimed at resolving compliance issues at the building, bringing their latest legal dispute to a temporary close.

The agreement, made an order of the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday, follows urgent proceedings after the City demolished what it described as illegally erected trading structures at Marble Towers earlier this week.

Under the agreement, the City and Goldenrod Group must conduct a joint inspection of the building within 72 hours to identify any building regulation or fire safety non-compliance. If any defects are identified, the building owner will have a further 72 hours to rectify them or seal off the affected areas.

The agreement also stipulates that if the City intends demolishing any structures found to be unlawful, it must first follow the required legal process, including obtaining a court order.

Goldenrod Group legal representative, Muhsin Madhi, says the agreement allows both parties to work together to bring the building into compliance while ensuring any enforcement action follows due legal process.

The City says the court order reaffirms its authority to enforce building and fire safety by-laws at Marble Towers. It says Goldenrod Group is prohibited from installing new structures or allowing the occupation of non-compliant areas and must secure the property, remove encroachments on municipal land and address any fire safety defects identified during inspections.

The municipality says it will inspect the building once the compliance period expires and, should Goldenrod fail to comply, it will return to court to seek an order authorising demolition.

The parties have also agreed to mediation if necessary, while Goldenrod has been ordered to pay the City’s legal costs.

Meanwhile, Goldenrod disputes the City’s claim that it owes R14 million in municipal debt.

“So this dispute has been ongoing since December last year. You know, the perspective given is that the building owes R14 million in electricity and water. But nobody tells you how much we’ve paid over the years. And I’m talking about a building where your municipal account is in excess of R1 million a month. So to give you just some perspective on the scale of what’s happening, when you say R14 million, everyone is up in arms, but they don’t realize that my clients paid hundreds of millions to the city over since they’ve bought the building.”

The company says the disputed account remains the subject of separate court proceedings and maintains that it has paid hundreds of millions of rand in municipal charges over the years. It says it remains committed to working with the City to resolve the dispute and bring the property into full compliance.

Today, the City of Johannesburg secured a court order in the Gauteng High Court against Goldenrod Group, the owner of Marble Towers. In terms of the order, Goldenrod is interdicted from continuing any installation of units and from allowing anyone to occupy structures that do not… pic.twitter.com/LZGv9fry8d

— Executive Mayor: @CityofJoburgZA (@DadaMorero) July 16, 2026

Written by: Lebohang Ndashe