RDP Housing - The real story behind the scenes

Written by Jane Yelland

Director / Attorney, JFY Attorneys Inc

When it was announced that South Africa would be implementing the Reconstruction and Development Programme, promising thousands of South African citizens free housing with running water, electricity and other basic services being provided, there was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about the opportunities that would be offered.

When this Reconstruction and Development Programme commenced, thousands of houses were built, and citizens of South Africa could start applying for these houses. As a country, South Africa had not had the opportunity of experiencing such a sophisticated programme and this inspired a sense of renewed hope and confidence.

People started receiving their homes under this Reconstruction and Development Programme and started to move in and live in their new homes. It appeared from the outset that this programme was going to work and would boost people and lift people out of situations of homelessness and poverty. However, it soon became apparent that not everything was as it seemed.

What has happened in the majority of these cases where people have moved into and are living in RDP housing, is that they have not been given nor provided with title deeds of the property. This means that although they might be the lawful owner of the house and of the property there are no title deeds to prove or reflect this. In some instances, the title deeds of the property do you not even exist in the first place. This has resulted in a situation where anybody can come and claim the house as their own even though they were not given the house under the RDP housing scheme. To make matters worse, these people who claim ownership of the RDP house will use whatever means possible to get the family already living in the RDP house evicted, thrown out onto the street, so that they and their family and friends can move in and unlawfully occupy the property.  

Since starting my own practice, I have encountered many cases like this. In one matter, a family had been given a RDP house under the RDP housing scheme and had been living in this house for a number of years. One day a group of people came to the family, came to their house, and started harassing them, threatening them, intimidating them and telling them to get out of the house and give the house over to them. The harassment, the threats, and the intimidation became progressively worse until one day the same group of people went into the house and violently and forcibly threw the family and their belongings out onto the streets. They even went so far as to hit the husband on the back of his head with an axe.

The amount of violence, anger, and hatred these people expressed towards the family was completely unwarranted. This group of people had not been given a house under the RDP housing scheme, this family had a house which this group of people wanted, and so they used whatever means possible to get the house for their own needs.

The family was completely displaced and had been the victim of an unlawful eviction. The family approached the police and asked for their assistance. The police were unable to help or assist the family with this. The family was then told to go and speak to the Counselor of the area as he may be able to give them advice on what action they could take to get their house back. The Counselor too, was unable and unwilling to get involved. Unfortunately, the family believed that they had run out of options. They were able to acquire alternative residence, but the fact of the matter is that this group of people are still living in the RDP house that the family was unlawfully evicted from.

The problem now is that even if this family can acquire ownership of the house once again, they will not be able to evict the people currently living in the house. The law and the Courts are very reluctant to grant an eviction order and won't grant an eviction order if it means that the eviction order will result in people losing their homes and having to live on the streets, even though they are unlawful occupiers of a property, and they were the perpetrators of an unlawful eviction in the past. This is a very real but very tragic travesty that many people in this country are going through and having to face.

Unfortunately, this case, as described above, is not only one and far between. This is a problem that is occurring more and more often than one would realize. The violence, aggression, the intimidation, and the harassment is accelerating and people are starting to feel hopeless and feel that their lives and those of their families are endangered. People no longer feel safe and secure in their own homes. It is becoming a widespread phenomenon and the RDP housing scheme is starting to fall apart. Couple this with corruption, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness. This can only spell and end up in catastrophe.

We at JFY Attorneys are committed to helping people keep their homes and retain their livelihoods. We hold a strong belief that this cannot continue, and people cannot continue to lose their homes. We will strive to ensure that people, their lives, their livelihoods, and those of their families are protected and safeguarded. From getting protection orders, to going to Court, to transferring existing title deeds into the name of the lawful owner, to transferring the property into the name of the lawful owner, we at JFY Attorneys will be there every step of the way. One step at a time and one day at a time, we will not stop until our clients are safe, secure and protected in their own homes.