For those who would like to be considered for an affordable housing opportunity, the single most important step to take is to apply to register on the City of Cape Town’s Housing Needs Register to see if they meet the qualifying criteria for subsidises housing. The next important step is to ensure their contact details are regularly updated. With these two steps, qualifying beneficiaries will have done everything necessary to be considered for a housing opportunity.
It’s important for applicants to remember that it might take some time before they receive an opportunity as the housing need is immense in Cape Town and in South Africa and the opportunities are provided on a first come, first served basis and within available State-resources which are not unlimited. It is also not possible to provide housing opportunities to all in need at the same time and the City tries to spread the opportunities across the metro fairly as much as possible. Suitable land is scarce and this is also a big factor in delivery.
The City already spends almost all the grant funding for human settlements and unfortunately, National Government continues to cut funding for human settlements.
Applying to be placed on the Register doesn’t mean they’ll receive notice of an opportunity today, or even tomorrow or anytime soon. Due to the acute need for housing across the metro, it is likely that qualifying beneficiaries may spend many years waiting for their opportunity.
During this time, it’s important that applicants remember that they should never be asked for money to be placed on the Register or in exchange for a housing opportunity. If this happens, it is a scam. They should also not be taken advantage of by syndicates that ‘sell’ land that does not belong to them. It is illegal and unlawful occupation jeopardises the housing delivery programme and hurts us all. Stealing land in this manner, steals opportunities from those who are registered on the Register and from qualifying beneficiaries who are in the process of receiving their affordable housing opportunity. Jumping the queue is not right or fair.
The City already provides and enables, among others:
- Breaking New Ground subsidy housing
- Some 37 000 City rental units
- Social housing initiatives and leveraging private sector investment
- Upgrade of informal settlements and mainstreaming and enhancing basic services to cater to the growing informality
- Backyard service provision to backyarders on Council-owned property
- Site and service, which is to be a major new direction of housing opportunity delivery given the worsening national economic situation and the National Government budget cuts for housing
- Other market and government led mechanisms to enable greater housing delivery in urban centres
- Regularising self-built units to improve safety
- Encouraging micro-builders in informal areas
- Negotiation with National Government for the release of large tracts of underused land for housing purposes as the availability of suitable land across the metro remains limited and an important factor in the roll out of opportunities
Specifically, the City has a number of types of affordable housing opportunities available.
These include:
- Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses (formerly RDP houses):
State-subsidised BNG houses, which are commonly referred to as low-cost houses, are specifically allocated to qualifying beneficiaries who are registered on the Register and whose household income does not exceed R3 500, among other national and provincial qualifying criteria.
- Community Residential Units (CRUs) (also referred to as Council Rental Units):
CRU accommodation refers to the existing or newly built City-owned rental housing properties that include multi-storey units, row houses, cottages, duplex units, hostels and pensioner cottages.
- Social Housing Programme:
Social housing developments offer affordable rental accommodation to qualifying applicants. In accordance with the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, governed by the Social Housing Act, social housing is a rental or cooperative housing option for households earning between R3 501 and R15 000 per month.
- Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP)
This is the provision of site and service, tenure, and enhancing of basic services.
Residents need to register on the City’s Housing Needs Register to be considered for housing opportunities that become available. The system is highly regulated to ensure that there is fairness and a systematic approach as the need for affordable housing in South Africa is pronounced.
Applicants need to meet the following criteria in order to register:
- be a South African citizen or permanent resident of South Africa
- be over 18-years-old
- be married or be a co-habiting partner, or else have dependants (This does not apply to applicants over the age of 60 or who have disabilities.)
- have a combined income of less than R3 500 per month to qualify for state subsidised housing
- never have owned a property before
- be competent to contract
- never have benefitted from a government housing subsidy before
Applicants often ask how the selection for housing opportunities works, why some applicants are selected for specific projects and why they aren’t considered for projects outside of their area.
- Applicants considered for rental opportunities may reside anywhere within the metro and have an option of indicating their areas of preference, including the unit type and size. These applicants are contacted based on their areas of preference, unit type and based on the date on which they applied.
- On the other hand, applicants considered for BNG opportunities are selected in terms of their area of residence as provided to the City, and in line with the approved Allocation Request Form. This form specifies the percentage of applicants selected for consideration per source area and as well as the percentage of applicants on the Register who live outside of the specific source area.
‘Beneficiaries of all City housing projects are allocated in accordance with the City’s Allocation Policy and the Housing Needs Register to ensure that housing opportunities are provided to qualifying applicants in a fair, transparent and equal manner, and to prevent queue-jumping.
‘Applicants will be selected for housing opportunities based on the date that they registered on the Register. The cut-off date reached in the source areas selected for a project depends on the project size and applicants are considered in date order,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.
Each housing project invites applicants within the agreed date range from the following three categories to apply for the specific project:
- Applicants who reside within the target area (the areas near or surrounding the planned housing development)
- Applicants who have been on the housing database the longest outside of the target area i.e. the greater City of Cape Town and
- Applicants with special needs.
‘There is no specific timeframe which residents must wait before they may be allocated a housing opportunity as it depends on the availability of housing opportunities and whether applicants qualify when the opportunities do become available. It is important to remember that all housing projects have different dynamics in terms of the size of the project, the number of applicants who may qualify and the application date range for that project.
‘The Register is a fair system which ensures those who are most deserving will receive opportunities in each project. It provides a mechanism to objectively determine who gets an opportunity. The City remains committed to providing homes to residents in well-located areas close to public transport, jobs, government services and public amenities. We are working to find ways to tackle the challenges of housing provision, amid national budget cuts and the demand for affordable accommodation due to the bad state of the national economy. The City cannot solve the housing challenge on its own. We are looking at new ways to address the housing need, but we need greater partnerships and innovation,’ said Councillor Booi.
It is important for applicants to keep their details, including their address and cellphone number, up to date so that the City can contact them when they qualify to be assisted. They should ensure that their identity number, marital status, residential address, contact details and household income remains accurate. To do so, they may visit this website: https://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/HWL2012Online/