The City of Cape Town urges residents to remember that they do not need to pay for a housing opportunity, to be placed on its Housing Needs Register and for property transfer services. Beneficiaries who are asked to pay in these instances are being scammed by individuals or ‘shack-farming’ syndicates.

‘If you are asked to pay to register on the City’s Housing Needs Register, to pay for a government housing Breaking New Ground (BNG) opportunity or a plot of City-owned land, or to pay for property transfer services to any individual except a conveyancer, you are being scammed. These types of cases often affect the most desperate residents. If you think that you might have been the victim of a housing scam, please report it to the South African Police Service for investigation.

‘We have recently been made aware of a number of these cases across the metro and we encourage our residents and beneficiaries to also contact the City should they suspect this to be the case. Qualifying beneficiaries are registered on the Housing Needs Register at no cost to them. The Register, which is protected, updated and audited, is necessary to prevent queue-jumping. This is especially important given the very acute need for housing opportunities across the metro,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.

Residents are encouraged to visit this link to update their details on the Housing Needs Register: https://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/HWL2012Online/

Anonymous tip-offs welcomed to help the City protect its projects and operations:

Residents can give anonymous tip offs if they are aware of illegal activity that is taking place; that has happened or is still to happen. Please call 112 from a cell phone (toll free) and 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 for emergencies.

Source: City Of Cape Town