Affordable Housing

Scammers are charging people R100,000 to secure subsidized government houses

The Department of Human Settlements has issued a warning after a new housing scam emerged, with housing seekers being billed R100,000 for subsidized government houses. The new scam has recently emerged on social media platforms. According to the department, scammers falsely claim to be department employees and offer assistance with government-subsidised housing applications for the...

Joburg metro grants over R167m in property rebates for pensioners

Christmas may have come early for the elderly as the City of Johannesburg paid back more than R167 million in property rebates to pensioners who own residential properties in the metro. The city granted property rebates to over 20 000 qualifying pension-owning homeowners over one year between July 2023 and June 2024. From the month of July, more than 30 000 property rebate applications were...

Resilient housing for all: a must in the face of climate change

Resilient housing for all: a must in the face of climate change

By Ariana KaramallisMost people live in cities and the world’s urban population is projected to increase by another 2.5 billion people by 2050.Nearly half of urban residents – roughly a billion people – are living in slums and informal settlements.These communities, despite contributing the least to climate change, are, in fact, the most severely affected.The impacts of climate change are becoming...

Why Cape Town’s affordable housing crisis matters

Why Cape Town’s affordable housing crisis matters

By Vivian WarbyThe big brains trust in national and local government, formal developers, micro developers and backyarders, academics, activists and NGOs are all working hard to solve the affordable housing crisis and to get the mid-to-lower end of the property market to work.The crisis - which is affecting more than half of the city’s population as rapid urbanisation occurs, unemployment rises,...

Why Cape Town’s affordable housing crisis matters

The big brains trust in national and local government, formal developers, micro developers and backyarders, academics, activists and NGOs are all working hard to solve the affordable housing crisis and to get the mid-to-lower end of the property market to work. The crisis - which is affecting more than half of the city’s population as rapid urbanisation occurs, unemployment rises,...

Inclusionary housing in province an ‘empty promise’ says GOOD Party

The Western Cape government has come in for criticism after it was revealed that not a single unit has been built under the Western Cape Inclusionary Housing Policy Framework, despite claims of a government committed to spatial transformation. GOOD Party’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, said MEC for Local Government Anton Bredell failed “dismally” in explaining why the framework had not...

Social housing units to be built in Durban

The eThekwini Municipality is planning to build 7000 social housing units in the Durban inner-city over the next few years to accommodate 450000 people, in an effort to address population growth and the demand for affordable housing. The City said that the with rapid urbanisation, cities were bursting at the seams and compelled to reinvent the urban core to accommodate the growth in...

Marabastad social housing project receives accolades at Reside awards

The multi-million rand Townlands social housing project in Marabastad, which was officially launched in April, was celebrated during the second instalment of the residential investment & development (Reside) awards. City of Tshwane MMC for Human Settlements, Ofentse Madzebatela, said the recognition showed the City’s steadfast commitment to create housing for low-income earners who now have...

Urban Housing Affordability Crisis: Balancing Growth with Accessibility

In the heart of bustling urban centres, a quiet crisis is brewing. As housing prices soar beyond the reach of many middle and lower-income families, the dream of owning a home in the city becomes increasingly elusive. With gentrification, zoning regulations, and a shortage of affordable housing exacerbating the issue, urban communities are grappling with profound socioeconomic impacts. Antonie Goosen,...

Man sues buyer to reclaim RDP house built on land he sold

A Thembisa man who sold his land and later returned to claim the property after an RDP house was built, is fighting to convince the court that he is the rightful owner of the property. The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg said that there was no evidence which proved that the seller, Lawrence Mashamaite, owned the sold land to Thobedi Collins Mohlala. According to court papers,...