The rail agency was ordered to restore shelter to people it evicted from Cape Town Foreshore in August By Sandiso Phaliso The Passenger Rail Agency of South (PRASA) has been accused of contempt of court for failing to adhere to a Western Cape High Court ruling of 6 September to shelter families it illegally evicted in August from Transnet-owned land along Old Marine Drive...

Parking lots in Cape Town’s city centre should be used for affordable housing, says Ndifuna Ukwazi By Marecia Damons Housing activists in Cape Town handed over 12 additional applications to the Department of Public Works for state-owned land to be released for affordable housing. They had already identified 32 pieces of land in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. They want...

The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled the sale of the site for private development was lawful By Tania Broughton The sale of the Tafelberg property in Sea Point for private development is lawful, the Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled. Housing activists wanted the site to be developed for social housing. The court said there was no law which dictated...

Judges question City of Cape Town about eviction of Bromwell Street tenants By Masego Mafata The City of Cape Town appeared before the Constitutional Court on Tuesday in a case concerning the eviction of tenants from Bromwell Street, Woodstock. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga asked the City whether the planned eviction resembled the forced removals from District Six during apartheid. Ndifuna Ukwazi, on...

The short answer You first need to find out how your name was linked to an RDP house before you can apply. The long answer I have a number of questions: How was your name linked? Were you named as a dependent in your parents’ application? Did you apply together with a partner who got the house but you did not benefit? When...

Albert Street fire tragedy sparks renewed attempt to evict hundreds of people living in derelict downtown buildings By Kimberly Mutandiro Owners of a number of “dark buildings” in downtown Johannesburg have been trying to evict hundreds of people occupying their properties for more than a decade. In the aftermath of the fire at 80 Albert Street that killed 77 people, the...

The short answer You can lay a complaint against him at the rental housing tribunal and also against the estate agent who tried to evict you illegally. The whole question Dear Athalie I have a verbal lease agreement for the house I am staying in, which will expire at the end of December 2023. There are no receipts of payment because our landlord...

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...