The City of Cape Town has welcomed heritage approval to proceed with its social housing plans, but the hospital is already occupied By Matthew Hirsch Heritage Western Cape has given the City of Cape Town the green light for its plan to develop social housing at the old Woodstock hospital. The building has been occupied by people since 2017. Reclaim the...

Solar powered public lights are better than high-mast lights, collaborative Cape Town project suggests By Noah Schermbrucker Solar-powered lights fixed onto the outside of shacks in informal settlements may be a better option than high-mast lights, a project in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, has shown. As part of their PhD project, Yael Borofsky and Stephanie Briers from ETH Zurich university in Switzerland collaborated with...

“The importance of public participation in South Africa cannot be understated,” say judges By Tania Broughton Parliament failed to ensure public participation before passing the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, says the Constitutional Court. The Court has given Parliament 24 months to re-enact the legislation or to start again. A public participation process must give the public a meaningful opportunity to...

The short answer The divorce order, which is binding on both parties, does not in itself vest ownership in the other spouse, although it does create the right to enforce transfer. The whole question Dear Athalie My ex-wife, with whom I was married in community of property, refuses to sign off on her share of the house for which there was a joint bond,...

The short answer If your parents were married in community of property, which is likely, then the RDP house belongs to them both, jointly. The whole question Dear Athalie My late father drew up a will that leaves his RDP house to me and two of my siblings in the event of his death, but we want to transfer the deed from his name to...

The short answer You can apply for a FLISP grant as part of the government's “Help-Me-Buy-a-Home” scheme The whole question Dear GroundUp I earn R9,000 a month. This means that I don't qualify for an RDP house, but I also can't get a home loan from the bank. I want my own house. What can I do? The long answer The objective of the Finance...

Future of Driftsands Nature Reserve uncertain By Siphokazi Mnyobe The Driftsands Nature Reserve in Cape Town, which has been occupied by thousands of families, has lost its value as a nature reserve, according to the Western Cape government. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning intends to de-proclaim the reserve. Meanwhile some of the families who moved onto the land...

Women on Farms march against evictions in the Western Cape 27 April 2022 | By Liezl Human Farm worker evictions are likely to spike with the end of the National State of Disaster, Women on Farms (WFP) has warned. WFP said when cases already on the court roll were processed, thousands of workers and their families would be evicted. About 100 women marched...

We need a comprehensive approach to site and service schemes By Noah Schermbrucker, Mirjam van Donk and Jens Horber A drastic change to housing policy in South Africa is in the institutional pipeline. From a delivery model centred on subsidised houses, the state is to shift focus to site and service schemes. But there is very little clarity as to how this will work, and...

Human Rights Commission urges city to move away from ‘us and them’ mentality when it comes to homelessness By Marecia Damons A report by the Human Rights Commission into homelessness in Cape Town found a lack of ablution facilities, clean water and homeless shelters for families. The report follows the City’s amended by-law that provides for compliance notices to be issued...