Pretoria - The City of Tshwane is still grappling with providing housing to people who applied for RDP homes between 1996 and 2000, said Human Settlements MMC Abel Tau.
He attributed part of the difficulties faced by the municipality in addressing the housing backlog to the existence of more than 200 informal settlements with approximately 250 000 people.
“In fact, I am going to embark on a process of doing a new study, verifying who’s there (in the informal settlements) and who’s not supposed to be there. It is such a mess what is currently happening.
“So we are definitely grappling with dealing with the housing backlog in the City. And let alone the situation in the hostels,” he said.
He told the Pretoria News yesterday that the municipality was in the process of drafting a plan to address the backlog.
“We are definitely going to be announcing what those plans are. We are just finalising with other departments. Among other things we are finalising is the land earmarked for the relocation of Mamelodi flood victims,” he said.
He also cautioned residents about a false RDP application scam, saying the municipality has noted misleading messages on social media platforms regarding RDP home applications.
He said those targeted were people who applied for homes between 1996 and 2022.
On social media platforms, unsuspecting applicants were asked to come forward to check the status of their applications for housing subsidies and to collect their house keys.
Tau said: “These messages have not been issued by the City of Tshwane and are therefore untrue. The public is cautioned not to fall for this scam.”
He reminded residents that the national housing needs register was the only legitimate platform to register for a low-cost house.
“To qualify for a housing subsidy, one must be a South African citizen or have permanent residency, be 18 years and older, and be married, widowed, divorced or single with dependants,” Tau said.
He further said in the case of a married applicant, neither the applicant nor his or her spouse should have received a housing subsidy in any form from the government before.
“Moreover, the total household income of the applicant should not exceed R22 000 a month. The City has a major backlog and is still dealing with those who registered from 1996 to 2000. People who have registered or wish to register for RDP houses and those who need to update their personal details are advised to visit their nearest regional office to do so,” Tau said.
Applicants can check if their names appear on the national housing needs register by visiting or calling municipal regional offices, he said.
Pretoria News