Housing Crisis Cape Town, Western Cape 1994-2004

The crisis consists of various components including:

• The lack of adequate housing;
• The slow rate of delivery;
• Evictions; and
• Indigence

Centre for Civil Society

Conclusion - Build your own home

The housing backlog has increased proportional to the growth of the population in the province and has reached a crisis point where it is about to spiral out of control.

This study argues that the exacerbation of the crisis in housing is as a result of the overall shift towards market-oriented policies, which shapes the approach of housing authorities.

It is the contention of this study that the basis of this crisis and the reason for it spiraling out of control is the failure of the state to take responsibility for resolving the crisis and the shifting towards market-oriented policies.

Housing authorities have been unable to reverse the growth in the backlog despite the mushrooming of various low-cost housing schemes.

The experiences of poor communities accessing low-cost housing have been very frustrating. The experiences of both the old Council schemes and the new RDP schemes are similar in terms of the crisis of affordability in accessing adequate housing. Build your own home