RDP houses are being snapped up by township entrepreneurs, added to and rented out for up to R1,800 a room.
But the emergence of this new sector of the urban property market has resulted in a mushrooming of new shacks, with the sellers of RDP houses moving back into informal settlements.
In this year alone, an entrepreneurial Zimbabwean has bought four RDP houses in Du Noon.
They are being extensively renovated, with the new structure filling the entire erf and comprising a number of one-room apartments.
With the sale of RDP houses in Du Noon, however, has come new shacks in the Doornbach informal settlement nearby.
Du Noon community leader Elizabeth Kuna said it was common for locals to sell their RDP houses to people who turned them into flats or dormitories.
"There is a guy from Zimbabwe buying RDP houses and converting them … he buys them for R50,000 or R60,000," said Kuna.
After the city's municipal evaluation of properties last year, people were notified that their RDP houses were worth as much as R45,000, she said.
This precipitated a rush of sales as owners wished to get their hands on the cash.
"It gave people an idea that they could sell their houses at such a price and return to shack dwelling," she said.
But in December, when people were desperate for cash to pay for their annual trip to the Eastern Cape, residents sold their houses for as little as R3,000 or R6,000.
"They go home to the Eastern Cape, and when they come back they move back into the shacks."
The Zimbabwean businessman, who did not want to named, said he was in the business of buying RDP houses and the sales were conducted through his attorneys, who made the necessary payments and notified the deeds office.
He confirmed that this year he had bought four houses in Du Noon at between R45,000 and R60,000 each.
Resident Thembi Nkosi, 35, who got his RDP house in 2000 after being on a waiting list for "more than 10 years", said he intended to sell his house and go and stay with his mother in Khayelitsha.
Nkosi said he was selling the house for personal reasons.
The city's executive director of housing, Hans Smit, said people did not understand the value of home ownership.
Smit said when people who had been cash-strapped all their lives realised what they could get for their house, the importance of the money overshadowed the importance of home ownership.
In some cases, people were manipulating the system and getting a second RDP house even though the National Housing Policy stated a person could only get a subsidy once.
"We are seeking to close loopholes but the housing policy from 1994 to now has not been effective," said Smit.
Asked whether the new owners' extension of RDP houses plans were approved by the city, Smit said the "biggest problem" was the sale of RDP houses, rather than the possible non-approval of alterations. - Cape Argus
But the emergence of this new sector of the urban property market has resulted in a mushrooming of new shacks, with the sellers of RDP houses moving back into informal settlements.
In this year alone, an entrepreneurial Zimbabwean has bought four RDP houses in Du Noon.
| It is common for locals to sell their RDP houses to people who turn them into flats or dormitories |
With the sale of RDP houses in Du Noon, however, has come new shacks in the Doornbach informal settlement nearby.
Du Noon community leader Elizabeth Kuna said it was common for locals to sell their RDP houses to people who turned them into flats or dormitories.
"There is a guy from Zimbabwe buying RDP houses and converting them … he buys them for R50,000 or R60,000," said Kuna.
After the city's municipal evaluation of properties last year, people were notified that their RDP houses were worth as much as R45,000, she said.
| In some cases, people were manipulating the system and getting a second RDP house |
"It gave people an idea that they could sell their houses at such a price and return to shack dwelling," she said.
But in December, when people were desperate for cash to pay for their annual trip to the Eastern Cape, residents sold their houses for as little as R3,000 or R6,000.
"They go home to the Eastern Cape, and when they come back they move back into the shacks."
The Zimbabwean businessman, who did not want to named, said he was in the business of buying RDP houses and the sales were conducted through his attorneys, who made the necessary payments and notified the deeds office.
He confirmed that this year he had bought four houses in Du Noon at between R45,000 and R60,000 each.
Resident Thembi Nkosi, 35, who got his RDP house in 2000 after being on a waiting list for "more than 10 years", said he intended to sell his house and go and stay with his mother in Khayelitsha.
Nkosi said he was selling the house for personal reasons.
The city's executive director of housing, Hans Smit, said people did not understand the value of home ownership.
Smit said when people who had been cash-strapped all their lives realised what they could get for their house, the importance of the money overshadowed the importance of home ownership.
In some cases, people were manipulating the system and getting a second RDP house even though the National Housing Policy stated a person could only get a subsidy once.
He acknowledged the housing system was faulty.
"The system is not perfect at all."
Asked whether the new owners' extension of RDP houses plans were approved by the city, Smit said the "biggest problem" was the sale of RDP houses, rather than the possible non-approval of alterations. - Cape Argus
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