City reiterates call for housing scam caution
14 July 2023
The City reiterates its call to residents to always exercise caution when approached about housing opportunities. This is especially important when residents are asked to pay or contribute to any kind of stokvel or cooperative to receive or to buy a subsidy housing opportunity. Furthermore, government housing may not be sold before eight years, so residents should make sure the sale can legally happen. Beneficiaries also do not need to pay the City or any other person to be placed on the Housing Needs Register. The City will never ask residents to pay for a government subsidised housing opportunity.
'Residents must always be vigilant of potential scammers. Beneficiaries who are asked to pay for an opportunity are being scammed and are encouraged to report suspicious or illegal activity to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for their investigation. We have recently become aware of a number of different types of housing scams where residents are being asked to pay. You are being scammed, you will lose that money and you won’t get a house.
‘If you are asked to pay to register on the City’s Housing Needs Register for a government housing Breaking New Ground (BNG) opportunity or a plot of City-owned land, you are being scammed. If the opportunity is advertised as a ‘RDP house’, it is a scam. If the correspondence does not have a City letterhead, you are being scammed.
‘Those who are looking for government housing are encouraged to always be aware of potential scams. If you think that you might have been the victim of a housing scam, please report it to the SAPS for investigation. Housing scams unfortunately happen often and impact the most vulnerable and desperate residents.
‘The City’s Housing Needs Register, which is protected, updated and audited, is necessary to prevent queue-jumping and to provide opportunities in a fair, ordered manner. This is important given the acute need for housing opportunities across the metro. Qualifying beneficiaries do not need to pay to register or to receive a subsidy housing opportunity. We encourage our residents and beneficiaries to contact the City should they be concerned that they have been or are being scammed,’ said the City’s Acting Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Alderman James Vos.
Residents are encouraged to visit this link to update their details on the Housing Needs Register: https://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/HWL2012Online/
Anonymous tip-offs welcomed to help the City protect its projects and operations and residents are encouraged to call: 0800 1100 77
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
