Hijacking of residential properties is on the increase in Pretoria-East.
In the past, criminals hijacked many buildings in central Johannesburg.
But now, syndicates are hijacking while homeowners are on holiday.
A surge of hijacking apartment blocks has resulted in at least nine urgent court applications in the last month.
Cape Town has also seen an increase in the hijacking of buildings.
Speaking on Radio Islam International, corporate lawyer Dominique Steyn said the problem stems from legislation to deal with vacant land invasions.