KwaDukuza RDP owners cash in on illegal sale and rental of houses

Maple Zungu (not her real name) used her life savings as a domestic worker to buy her first home, only to have it taken away from her a few short years later.

It turned out the seller had never owned the house and had sold her land due to be expropriated for development purposes.

Without a title deed, Maple has no claim for recompense and is left worse off than she was before.

The battle for adequate housing leaves countless people vulnerable to con artists, or even honest mistakes such as building outside property boundaries or buying a property without going through the official channels that can have serious financial consequences.

The construction of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses sought to bridge that gap, and while between 2 and 3 million subsidised housing units have been built countrywide, there is seemingly an endless list of people waiting for their RDP houses across KwaDukuza.

There are at least 20 housing projects on the go in phases by in the municipality, with each project containing between 500 and 4 000 houses.

But the RDP process is many faceted and subject to abuse.

Every year The Courier receives reports of people who bought RDP houses from original beneficiaries, but like Maple are turned out when, for example, relatives of the original owner come knocking, demanding ‘their house’ back.

KwaDukuza municipality spokesperson, Sipho Mkhize, confirmed that RDP recipients were not allowed to sell their houses within the first eight years of occupancy.

When they do, it is important to ensure the sale is done legally through conveyancers qualified to handle deeds of transfer.

“The municipality discourages the selling of RDP houses. Beneficiaries who sell their RDP houses are left vulnerable since they may not again be able to acquire a home of their own after selling.”

Nkobongo councillor Ali Ngidi said the resale of RDP houses was a serious problem throughout KwaDukuza

“This is illegal as one may not vacate a RDP house to rent it out for remuneration purposes.

“Home extensions are also often built outside of their property’s boundaries, occupying land that does not belong to them or using land earmarked for development or services infrastructure,” said Ngidi.

Mkhize said RDP homeowners, like everybody else, must submit applications to municipal town planning departments for approvals in terms of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA).

He said the public can make use of the municipality’s human settlement unit and request information on properties to prevent being scammed.

You can contact KwaDukuza municipality at 032 437 5000

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