Cape Town affordable housing provider defends evictions amid claims it places profit over people

Parliamentarians have accused an affordable housing provider in Cape Town of not caring about the people it serves.

Communicare has been in legal disputes with tenants for years, fighting to evict those who have failed to honour their leases.

The company defended its actions, saying the vast majority of its tenants were satisfied, but that its business was not a “bottomless charity”.

Rental debts R35 million annually

Communicare CEO Anthea Houston, on Thursday, gave a presentation to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements outlining the state of the company’s operations.

Houston noted that the company had been in and out of court since 2020 while government officials concluded their investigation into Communicare.

The investigation stemmed from complaints from tenants about an alleged illegal eviction process. The company is facing its second dispute with the government after the first stalled due to a lack of evidence.

Houston urged the department to secure alternative housing for delinquent tenants or identify sponsors for tenants with no income.

The CEO explained that Communicare has just over 3 400 units, and although between 95% and 98% of leasees were up to date, debts averaged R35 million annually.

She said 301 households were in various stages of handover and that 112 of those were facing imminent eviction, with a further 38 eviction orders pending execution.

Of the 140 where eviction was a probable outcome, 112 households had minors or older persons.

Human Settlements minister Thembi Simelane explained that there had been engagements with the city and the provincial government, but that provincial authorities declared they would wait for the court outcomes before acting.

“It is upon the city and the province to then take the process forward in terms of the profiling and provide accommodation for the needy members that are being evicted,” said Simelane.

‘Who is really being protected?’

The protracted legal battles were also costly, with Houston asking the committee to advise complainants to use government lawyers, as they were paying lawyers when they could use free legal services.

“Many of our tenants are using very dodgy attorneys; people who do not understand the law and the PIE Act, who play games in the court and frustrate the court processes.

“[They also] take their money and disappear or withdraw from their cases at the eleventh hour. So I would also say encourage people to use the free legal service that the state has made available,” said Houston.

Committee members did not immediately warm to Houston’s presentation, citing a “lack of humanity” and broader economic issues.

uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s Selna Abader suggested the company consider its humanitarian obligations and asked why it was targeting the minority of non-paying households while it was investing billions in development.

“This presentation raises serious concerns about who is really being protected here and who is being sacrificed in Communicare’s current approach,” said Abader.

The EFF’s Mbali Dlamini called for the regulation of rental prices in Cape Town and beyond.

“There is a serious crisis, chairperson, that I think we need to look into. There needs to be direction on how we address this. It is unaffordable to live in the City of Cape Town,” Dlamini said.

‘Bottomless charity’

Houston stressed that every avenue was taken to offer tenants cheaper alternatives in other developments, as well as offers of lengthy payment plans.  

“I take exception to the comment that we don’t care. Perhaps you and others, and the honourable members here, care differently.

“Perhaps in our shoes, you would make different decisions. Certainly, for every decision we have to make, there are a number of options, and we weigh them up, and we try to do what we think is best,” said Houston.

She explained the company was required to manage Communicare’s resources in a way that was financially responsible.

“We are not in a position where we can say it’s okay we will suspend rental payments and acting against people who don’t, because our whole structure will collapse.

“Our mandate is not to look after 3 400 tenants, our mandate is to deliver more affordable housing, more social housing for the city.

“To do that, we have to manage the properties and the tenants we have in a sustainable way. It can not be a bottomless charity,” Houston concluded.

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