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The City of Tshwane notes, with concern, reports of an RDP housing scam targeting residents who applied for housing subsidies between 1996 to 2022. 

In the false messages being circulated, applicants are being misled to believe that approval of their RDP housing opportunities will be made on the condition that they first settle their outstanding utility bills before being permitted access to the house.

This is manifestly irrational as RDP housing opportunities are new houses for which no municipal debt has been accrued. 

Residents are cautioned not to fall for this scam and are urged to confirm if their names appear on the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR). The NHNR is the only legitimate platform to register for an RDP house.

To qualify for the housing subsidy, the applicant must:

• Be a South African citizen or have permanent residency;
• Be 18 years and older; or
• Be married, widowed, divorced, or single with dependents. 

MMC Maluleka is urging victims of the scam to report their cases to law enforcement agencies. The City is committed to unblocking the historical housing backlog and expanding housing and human settlements opportunities to more and more residents of our City.

Migration to urban centres is a phenomenon that many cities across the world have to grapple with. Tshwane is no different.

Addressing Tshwane’s housing needs remains a priority for this administration. These needs are as follows:

• 43 000 student beds
• 93 092 first-time home finance units
• 110 498 social housing units
• 83 926 rental units

To address these needs, Housing Company Tshwane (HCT) has been allocated a R40,2 million subsidy and 1 200 rental units to improve access to more housing opportunities closer to places of economic activity.

To date, the flagship project Townlands, which is now fully tenanted, has already made a positive impact for 300 families. 

Tshwane, being a key player in the South African economy, has the consequence of attracting people from across the country looking for better opportunities.

This often leads to people erecting unsafe dwellings on the peripheries of the City where there is often no bulk infrastructure to service their needs.

A consequence of this is that Tshwane now has 502 informal settlements for which we have set aside R400 million for the provision of dignified rudimentary services.

To assist in providing dignified living spaces for these residents, we have allocated a further R98 million for the formalisation of informal settlements.

This Multiparty Coalition Government has demonstrated in its budget envelope that it is committed to addressing the challenges of our human settlements backlog and we are working to progressively realising greater access to housing opportunities as demanded by the Constitution.

Issued by MMC for Housing & Human Settlements Aaron Maluleka