The City of Cape Town is still in the process of re-establishing ownership of illegally occupied Community Residential Units (CRUs) across the metro.
At the end of June, Malusi Booi, Mayco member for human settlements, visited several units that were illegally occupied and issued notices to residents.
Of the illegally occupied units identified, 52 are in the Manenberg area.
In a statement, the City urged residents who have been identified as being in unlawful occupation of a City unit to visit their local housing office with the requested documentation for them to be considered for normalisation.
“We met with the affected residents to provide clarity and guidance to them. To date, our Public Housing Department served 14 notices on unlawful occupants and we carried out 46 visits in the area,” Booi said in a statement.
Last week, Booi told People’s Post that the City had found that many residents who were unlawfully occupying units were either not registered on the City’s Housing Needs Register or have very recent application dates.
He said this was not fair to those who had been registered for a long time.
“It effectively takes away opportunities from applicants who have followed the correct procedure of registering on the housing database and who are patiently waiting their turn to be assisted with rental housing,” he said.
Booi said they could not allow queue jumping to take place.
“It continues a system of informality as unlawful occupiers do not have legal contracts with the City and, therefore, do not pay rent, the latter which is used for maintenance of CRUs.”
Cases are evaluated on a continuous basis.
According to Booi, a total of 132 cases were initially flagged by the department as being unlawful.
“The City issued notices to unlawful occupants in its CRUs across the metro over recent months. The unlawful occupation of City rental units is a transgression which the City, as the landlord, has to deal with as part of its tenancy management,” Booi said.
The City’s reviewed Allocation Policy also provides for residents with permanent disability and medical conditions to be considered for normalisation as the rightful tenants, subject to them meeting qualifying criteria.
With the notices having been issued just over a month ago, Booi said due processes were being followed.
The notice to vacate a City unit is the last resort, and is only served once all options have been explored and applied, he continued.
An unlawful occupant refers to a person who in relation to the City’s rental housing stock, is not a family member listed on the City’s tenant family form and who:
- Has moved into a vacant dwelling without the City’s authorisation;
- has forced the tenant out of his/her dwelling, or; and who
- has been left behind by a vacating tenant or when the tenant died.
To qualify for a CRU, prospective tenants must be registered on the City’s Housing Needs Register; their monthly household income must not exceed R15 000; the prospective tenant and family must personally occupy the premises.
In addition, neither the prospective tenant nor his or her spouse or partner must be current property owners, have no proven record of anti-social behaviour; and have been living with the tenant for an unbroken period of at least two years prior to the death of the tenant/tenant vacating or relinquishing the tenancy.
The proof of stay provided must not be older than five years prior to the death of the tenant/tenant vacating or relinquishing the tenancy.
“The City always acts swiftly and decisively when unlawful occupation in City rental units takes place.
“The Public Housing Department remains committed to assisting all lawful tenants in City-owned units across the metro and to providing opportunities to rightful and registered applicants who patiently await their turn to be assisted with rental housing,” said Booi.
Those wishing to join the database are urged to visit their nearest housing office.
- For appointments, call the Call Centre on 021 444 0333 or send a WhatsApp to 063 299 9927. Housing offices are open on weekdays from 08:00 to 15:00.
