Years of neglect and piecemeal repair work have led the City of Cape Town to allocate R300-million for fixing and upgrading 43 500 council flats and houses.
The first phase of the project will see around 7 700 units being upgraded from July.
These include the Connaught Estate Flats and Uitsig Houses in Elsies River, Scottsdene flats in Oostenberg, Woodlands flats in Mitchells Plain, Marble flats in Ottery and Kewtown flats in Athlone, as well as council flats in Hanover Park, Heideveld and Manenberg.
Mayoral committee member for housing Dan Plato said yesterday it was high time the city upgraded council housing in a more dramatic manner than it had been doing over the years.
He said the council was facing several claims from tenants who had injured themselves in dilapidated buildings. Staircases were crumbling, railings were broken, tiles had come loose and ceilings were collapsing.
In general the plaster and brick work of the buildings was in a rapid state of deterioration and exposed electrical wiring posed a fire hazard.
Geysers also needed to be replaced and many of the properties in Uitsig, which were more than 30 years old, did not even have bathrooms.
The first phase of the project will include a detailed assessment of the blocks of flats to determine the type of repair and upgrading work that needs to be done.
The project will soon be put out to tender and the appointed developer and contractor will be expected to rope in community-based contractors who had a proven track record of quality work.
The highest cost of repair work will be in Scottsdene and Uitsig where the repair to council housing will cost R60m in each of these areas.
But it could take up to three years for this project to be completed.
For now it is not expected that tenants will have to move out during the repair work, but this will only be known for sure once the final assessment has been made.
Plato said planning for phases 2 and 3 would start after the first phase and was not dependent on the completion of the first phase.
Plato said the city would not be increasing the rental during the next financial year.
He encouraged households earning less than R1 800 to approach the city to register as indigent.
The city would continue to take the necessary steps to pursue those who failed to pay rent.
Plato will visit several of the affected communities this week to inform them of the repair programme. - Cape Argus
The first phase of the project will see around 7 700 units being upgraded from July.
These include the Connaught Estate Flats and Uitsig Houses in Elsies River, Scottsdene flats in Oostenberg, Woodlands flats in Mitchells Plain, Marble flats in Ottery and Kewtown flats in Athlone, as well as council flats in Hanover Park, Heideveld and Manenberg.
Mayoral committee member for housing Dan Plato said yesterday it was high time the city upgraded council housing in a more dramatic manner than it had been doing over the years.
He said the council was facing several claims from tenants who had injured themselves in dilapidated buildings. Staircases were crumbling, railings were broken, tiles had come loose and ceilings were collapsing.
In general the plaster and brick work of the buildings was in a rapid state of deterioration and exposed electrical wiring posed a fire hazard.
Geysers also needed to be replaced and many of the properties in Uitsig, which were more than 30 years old, did not even have bathrooms.
The first phase of the project will include a detailed assessment of the blocks of flats to determine the type of repair and upgrading work that needs to be done.
The project will soon be put out to tender and the appointed developer and contractor will be expected to rope in community-based contractors who had a proven track record of quality work.
The highest cost of repair work will be in Scottsdene and Uitsig where the repair to council housing will cost R60m in each of these areas.
But it could take up to three years for this project to be completed.
For now it is not expected that tenants will have to move out during the repair work, but this will only be known for sure once the final assessment has been made.
Plato said planning for phases 2 and 3 would start after the first phase and was not dependent on the completion of the first phase.
Plato said the city would not be increasing the rental during the next financial year.
He encouraged households earning less than R1 800 to approach the city to register as indigent.
The city would continue to take the necessary steps to pursue those who failed to pay rent.
Plato will visit several of the affected communities this week to inform them of the repair programme. - Cape Argus
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