The City of Cape Town held a housing consumer education session today, 5 November 2021, for first-time homeowners at the Harare Infill housing project in Khayelitsha. These sessions aim to inform the beneficiaries of housing projects about the roles and responsibilities of being a property owner, about budgeting and personal finance, maintenance responsibilities and even about drafting a will.
These sessions seek to educate beneficiaries about their new role and the responsibilities of becoming a homeowner for the first time. Owning a home means much more to the beneficiaries than having a roof over their heads. It signifies the start of the restoration of dignity to some of the most vulnerable residents across the metro. This is a special moment for our beneficiaries and the City seeks to provide the information necessary to make the transition to new property ownership as seamless as is possible.
The Harare Infill project will provide 900 qualifying beneficiaries with State-subsidised homes and see them become first-time homeowners.
Approximately 100 houses are planned to be handed over to beneficiaries before the end of this year. Construction is expected to be completed by late-2022, if all goes according to plan.
‘Going forward, we remind the new property owners that they are responsible for their homes. We therefore encourage them to make responsible decisions regarding their homes, which includes the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of their homes as well as ensuring the security of their assets for their loved ones in future by including it in their will.
‘Generally, the City runs consumer housing education sessions for all beneficiaries of State-subsidised Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses before they move into their homes in an effort to prepare them for their new roles as property owners,’ said the City’s Executive Director, Human Settlements Directorate, Nolwandle Gqiba.
Thank you to the City team for supporting our beneficiaries by providing them with this important information.