City of Tshwane warns residents of an RDP housing scam

The City of Tshwane has warned against a scam regarding RDP housing, after a misleading message surfaced on social media requesting residents to submit documents to apply for RDP houses.

“The Housing Department is looking for people who applied for RDP houses in 1996/2019 period from Region 1-7,” read the fake post. It requests that residents seeking housing submit their identity document, proof of income, and proof of residence, among other things.

The office of the MMC for Human Settlements has cautioned that the only legitimate platform to register for an RDP house is the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR).

“People who have registered or wish to register for RDP houses, including those who need to update their personal details, are advised to visit their nearest regional office to do so,” says Abel Tau, MMC for Human Settlements.

The office added a plea to the public to contact the City of Tshwane whenever they come across such notices. “The City of Tshwane would like to warn those who are peddling such false information that these actions are criminal,” Tau says.

RDP scams are nothing new

RDP scams are unfortunately not foreign to South Africans.

In April 2021, the Hawks arrested an estate agent, Annica van Staden, who was accused of selling RDP houses without the consent of the owners. The 46-year-old was initially arrested in 2019 after she failed to appear in court over these allegations.

“The buyers allegedly paid money into her business trust account, trading as ‘Housing First Eiendomme’. As soon as the money was received, it would be transferred to her accomplices,” Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said at the time.

Van Staden was released on bail and was meant to appear in court on 11 November 2020. She, however, failed to make her court appearance on the scheduled date.

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