What is social housing?

Social housing is rental housing provided by the City for people who earn between R2500 and R7500 per month. These homes, which usually take the form of apartments, are built on City owned land in partnership with the municipality’s accredited social housing institutions. Funding is provided by National Government’s Social Housing Subsidy.

How many people live in social housing developments in Cape Town?

As over half of the families who rent accommodation in South Africa have a monthly income of less than R3 500 per month, the demand for social housing is very high. In Cape Town, between 18 and 21% of rented dwellings are shacks. The City of Cape Town rents social housing apartments to 80 000 people. Many more live in rental accommodation in backyards and private dwellings.

Dwelling tenure (thousand households)



Distribution of monthly household income (renters)



Rented households (dwelling type)
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