The City of Cape Town has urged residents to be cautious when approached about housing opportunities as scammers are on the prowl.
It said it is especially important when residents are asked to pay to receive or to buy a subsidy for a housing opportunity.
The City said it would never ask residents to pay for a government-subsidised housing opportunity and urged all residents to report suspicious or illegal activity to the police.
Mayoral committee member for human settlements, Councillor Carl Pophaim said his directorate was recently made aware of a scam involving its Maroela housing project in Kraaifontein.
“The current phase of the project, consisting of Breaking New Ground (BNG) homes, for those who earn up to R 3,500 a month, and the planned Gap units, for those who earn between R3,501 and R22,000 a month, is progressing well and is expected to be completed in mid-2025, if all goes as planned.
“It is heartbreaking to hear that residents are being made promises of housing opportunities that cannot and will not be kept.
“There is only one way to lawfully receive a subsidy housing opportunity and that is to qualify after registering on the Housing Needs Register. The Register is protected, updated, and audited. This is necessary to prevent queue-jumping and to provide opportunities in a fair, ordered manner,” Pophaim said.
He said there are a few red flags residents can look out for when approached about a housing opportunity.
The red flags to look out for are:
– Asked to pay a registration fee
– An opportunity is advertised as a RDP house
– Asked to pay for a subsidised housing opportunity
– If a BNG house has been built within the last eight years
– If the correspondence does not have a City of Cape Town letterhead.
“It is important that residents are familiar with these and are able to protect themselves. These types of cases happen far too often, and often impact the most desperate, vulnerable residents.
“If residents think they might have been the victim of a housing scam, they are encouraged to please report it to SAPS (SA Police Service) and the City for investigation. We also encourage residents to update their details on the Register to ensure the City can contact them when they do qualify for a housing opportunity,” Pophaim said.
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 are welcomed to help the City and residents are encouraged to call: 0800 1100 77.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL