More than R4,4 bn budgeted for dignified human settlements, home for all
02 August 2026
The City’s Human Settlements Directorate’s budget for the next three years shines a light on creating more dignified, integrated human settlements. The City as an organisation is absolutely dedicated to improving the lives of our most vulnerable residents, even if it comes amid severe challenges such as national government budget cuts.
‘Over the next three financial years, the Human Settlements Directorate has budgeted more than R4,4 billion in total allocations (capital and operational budgets) to create integrated and more dignified human settlements. We will spend more than R1,2 billion on the upgrading of informal settlements to improve living conditions, health and safety and to ensure that our most vulnerable residents receive greater access to basic services.
‘Around R1 billion goes to expanding the provision of serviced sites, enabling more qualifying beneficiaries to access serviced land, housing opportunities and to ensure that our residents have security of tenure, a place to call home.
‘We also continue to look at more traditional housing delivery, budgeting more than R867 million earmarked for the delivery of Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing. Here the focus remains on the most vulnerable members of our communities, including elderly people, child-headed households, and people with disabilities.
‘Another exciting investment is the almost R1,2 billion for the upgrade and maintenance of our Council flats that provide affordable housing to a large number of Capetonians.
‘Acquiring strategically located land to support the City’s long-term integrated human settlements strategy also remains key with some R236 million budgeted for this vital intervention. Looking at redress and empowerment, we have also set aside R37,9 million to continue our game-changing Title Deed rectification programme to deal with the delivery of historical title deeds to those who have never received their deeds. This will also boost our successful Title Deed-to-Door campaign as our Title Deeds Express bus goes across the metro, finding our beneficiaries and making them homeowners.
‘Subsidised forms of housing and human settlements delivery for Capetonians earning between R1 850 and R34 400 per month is about balance, seeing the bigger picture and implementing an innovative approach amid the constant reduction of national government funding to tackle the great housing challenge.
‘We must look at all options to bring dignity to residents, be it through formalising informality, expanding services, formal State-housing delivery, title deeds, upgrading Council flats or expanding affordable housing options with public-private sector partnerships. The housing challenge is a complex one, and we need many solution-tentacles to bring greater dignity to all in Cape Town,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Carl Pophaim.
Social to affordable housing – change in tact due to national government funding shortfalls
About two and a half years ago, the Mayoral Priority Programme for Accelerated Land Release for Affordable Housing was developed. This programme enables and unlocks and then presents to market de-risked, fully packaged land for residentially-led mixed use developments at material discounts to developers and investors.
More sites have been released in this term of office alone than in the decade prior to accelerate affordable housing land release. The City’s overall pipeline has now grown to 12 000 affordable housing units in well-located areas, including the CBD and other economic nodes across the metro as housing delivery.
‘The City had to pivot profoundly over the past few years due to national government funding cuts on the social housing programme. We’ve thus been a pioneer in developing a unique programme to unlock public-private partnership. We’re manoeuvring in a very difficult space, but the teams working with me have the will, expertise and innovative approach to local government delivery that will see us fulfil our desire to create more dignity and inclusion in human settlements,’ said Councillor Pophaim.
Release national mega properties for housing
Various national mega-properties could be gamechangers for affordable housing and mixed-use development in Cape Town, with an estimated yield of over 100 000 units.
This includes the sprawling Culemborg land east of the CBD. Transnet has ear-marked some of this land for back-of-port operations but the property is large enough to include portions for affordable housing and mixed-use development.
Other national mega-properties which could be used in whole or part include:
- Ysterplaat
- Youngsfield
- Wingfield
- Parliamentary village
The City has for years advocated for the release of these national mega-properties, which are among the largest, best-located tracts of land in Cape Town for development.
The City welcomes efforts by National Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson to place the release of this land on government’s national agenda, and we call on other key roleplayers in the State to demonstrate the same will to get these sites into a land release pipeline, including the Ministry of Defence, SANDF, and National Human Settlements.
We further call on the national government to accelerate sites already in the development pipeline, including the SABC building in Sea Point and the long-delayed redevelopment of District Six.
Around 4 000 affordable units are entering construction phases in Cape Town’s central city this year.
These sites include Salt River Market, New Market Street (Foreshore), Pickwick (Salt River) and Fruit & Veg (CBD).
This is aside from projects already completed and tenanted, including over 200 social rental units at the inner city’s Maitland Mews, over 1 000 units at Goodwood Station, and over 400 units at Bothasig Gardens.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
