The City of Cape Town handed over 10 title deeds to the beneficiaries of Council dwellings that were previously used as rental stock in Bonteheuwel. The handover is confirmation of the City’s commitment to empowering some of our most vulnerable residents as first-time property owners.
On 21 December 2017 10 property owners from Bonteheuwel received their title deeds from the City.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Area Central, Councillor Siyabulela Mamkeli, personally handed over the title deeds to the property owners during a ceremony at the local subcouncil office.
‘The handover of these title deeds is worth celebrating as some of our most vulnerable residents are now first-time property owners. A title deed is a passport to economic opportunities. It opens the doors to finance. If you go to a bank or a lender, it means you can provide the title deed as warranty or surety. This will enable you to borrow the money you may need to start a new business, to improve your house, or to pay for a child to go to university.
‘The title deeds are also more than a piece of paper – the handover is a clear example of the City’s commitment to redressing the inequality of our Apartheid past where the majority of our residents were denied ownership of property.
‘I encourage the new owners to look after their houses, to do regular maintenance, and to make responsible decisions as these houses are valuable financial assets which will bring them a step closer to economic freedom,’ said Councillor Mamkeli.
Security of tenure is one of the priorities identified in the City’s Organisational Development and Transformation Plan, thus the City is striving to increase the number of title deeds that are handed over to first-time property owners.