News24 | 500 000 waiting for homes: Cape Town housing crisis puts DA under pressure ahead of elections

• Cape Town’s housing crisis is emerging as a key electoral battleground, with activists warning frustration over affordability, access to land and the housing backlog could dent the DA’s support in the elections.
• About 500 000 people are on the City of Cape Town’s housing waiting list, raising questions about whether the DA’s housing policies are meeting residents’ needs.
• The party defended its record, citing more than 12 000 housing units delivered since 2021, more than R10 billion invested in a single financial year and the proposed Salt River Market development, which is expected to provide more than 900 units.

Cape Town’s housing crisis is emerging as a key electoral battleground for the DA, with housing activists warning that growing frustration over affordability, access to well-located land and a mounting waiting list could cost the party support in communities where it has governed for years.

Currently, 500 000 people are on the City of Cape Town’s housing waiting list.

Kashiefa Achmat, the chairperson of the Housing Assembly, said the crisis went beyond the shortage of houses, adding that it was also about who got to live in Cape Town, how far working-class residents had to travel to work, and whether the city’s development benefited the people who kept its economy running.

“Cape Town is still a very unequal city,” she added, arguing that poor and working-class communities had not been adequately considered in decisions about land and housing.

Achmat said security guards, cleaners and retail workers who contributed to the city’s economy were increasingly unable to afford to live near their workplaces, forcing families to spend hours travelling between home and work.

“People are tired of the DA,” she added, arguing that the party’s reputation for running a well-governed City did not reflect the experiences of residents in all communities.

READ | 500 000 Capetonians wait for houses as demand ‘far outstrips’ state capacity – Hill-Lewis

Her warning comes as opposition parties sharpen their criticism of the DA’s housing record, while the City defends its investment in housing opportunities and its plans to work with private developers to expand affordable housing.

The battle over land and affordable housing

The City has increasingly turned to partnerships with private developers and the release of municipal land as part of its strategy to expand affordable housing.

But the approach faced criticism from housing activists who argued that well-located public land should be used to address the legacy of apartheid spatial planning and the exclusion of working-class residents from the inner city.

In July, the Constitutional Court handed down a landmark judgment in the long-running Tafelberg School land dispute, placing renewed pressure on the City and the Western Cape government to demonstrate how their policies would address spatial inequality and the need for affordable housing in well-located areas.

READ | Cape rents rise faster than inflation, while mansions sell for millions

The judgment reinforced the principle that the location of housing was central to the constitutional obligation to provide adequate housing, rather than a secondary consideration in decisions about public land.

The DA, led in Cape Town by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, defended its record, pointing to more than 12 000 housing units delivered since 2021 and more than R10 billion invested in a single financial year.

The City also highlighted major developments, including the proposed Salt River Market project, which is expected to provide more than 900 housing units.

General view of Salt River Market and surrounding area where the City of Cape Town plans to introduce a housing development project.

ER Lombard/Gallo Images

The DA’s approach centres on increasing housing supply by releasing public land, working with private developers, and cutting red tape, which it argued slowed down affordable housing projects.

It opposes rent control, maintaining that market intervention could discourage investment and reduce the supply of rental housing.

So, what are the opposition parties proposing?

The housing crisis has created an opportunity for opposition parties to challenge the DA’s approach, with proposals ranging from greater state intervention in land ownership to tighter oversight of municipal spending and a stronger focus on housing near economic centres.

• ANC provincial task team convenor Jerimia Thuynsma called for structural redress and a redistribution of resources towards township communities. The party said it wanted to address apartheid-era spatial planning, issue title deeds, and stop making promises to people who have spent decades on housing waiting lists.

• GOOD party mayoral candidate Brett Herron called for an end to the sale of public land that could be used for affordable housing, particularly in well-located areas near the inner city. The party wants to address the impact of short-term rentals on long-term housing supply and reform developer incentives so that private developments make a greater contribution to affordable housing.
• The EFF advocates land expropriation without compensation for urban settlements, alongside infrastructure upgrades and the formalisation of townships such as Delft and Dunoon.
• ActionSA mayoral candidate Dereleen James proposed a “30-minute city” model, arguing that housing should be integrated with access to schools, jobs, churches and other essential services rather than developed in isolation.
• The Patriotic Alliance, represented by mayoral candidate Cheslyn Daniels, called for an independent, citizen-led oversight body to monitor municipal housing expenditure and service delivery.
• FF Plus mayoral candidate Emre Uygun highlighted the more than 500 000 people on the housing waiting list and the more than 80 000 backyard dwellers, advocating for sustainable spatial planning and the prioritisation of older people and people with disabilities.
• Build One South Africa mayoral candidate Roger Solomons proposed a 90-day municipal land and asset audit to identify opportunities for 10 000 affordable homes near economic hubs and public transport.

Political analyst Sanusha Naidoo said housing presented a persistent challenge for the DA because of the structural and spatial inequality embedded in Cape Town.

“The question is where affordable housing fits into the DA’s design, planning and thinking,” she said.

Naidoo pointed to the proliferation of luxury apartments and commercial developments in Cape Town, arguing that the visible construction boom did not necessarily address the needs of lower-income residents.

“Everywhere you look, there’s construction, but the question is whether that construction is built around making the city an investment destination,” she said.

She argued that the City’s development model was contributing to gentrification, while the shortage of affordable housing continued to leave working-class residents struggling to live near their places of employment.

Naidoo also questioned the prominence of affordable housing in the DA’s election messaging, saying the party appeared to be placing greater emphasis on recreational facilities, parks, swimming pools and other municipal amenities.

READ | Cape Town densification: Hill-Lewis defends developments, residents fear being pushed out

She warned that the housing crisis could have consequences beyond the cost of accommodation, including pressure on infrastructure and the affordability of living in the city.

Naidoo said private developments, particularly those aimed at middle- and upper-income buyers, could place additional pressure on water infrastructure, while short-term rentals could further affect the availability and affordability of long-term accommodation.

However, she cautioned against assuming that housing frustration would lead to the DA losing control of Cape Town.

“I don’t think the DA is going to lose the governing of the city,” she said.

Instead, she suggested the party could lose support in individual wards as voters consider alternatives, including the Patriotic Alliance, National Coloured Congress, Freedom Front Plus and GOOD Party.

She said the election would test whether the DA had done enough to convince residents that its record in government was translating into tangible improvements in their lives.

Head of political organising at Ndifuna Ukwazi Buhle Booi said that housing and spatial justice in Cape Town are going to be a significant factor in these elections.

He said:

The crisis is not limited to people living in informal settlements: exorbitant rents mean that even many middle-class households are struggling to find affordable accommodation. In working-class communities such as Langa and Khayelitsha, housing is inseparable from access to basic services, safe infrastructure and dignity.

Booi highlighted the Public Protector’s July report, which found that the City of Cape Town was guilty of maladministration and constitutional violations for failing to provide basic municipal services in Langa Flats and parts of Khayelitsha.

“It shows why spatial justice is about more than where homes are built. It is also about whether people have access to functioning sanitation, clean water, electricity, and safe public facilities where they live,” he said.

Booi added that these issues will shape how people assess the parties seeking their vote.

“Voters are looking for credible commitments to affordable housing, secure tenure, properly serviced settlements and reliable basic services, not just promises. A party that can show how it will deliver those things, with clear plans and accountability, has an opportunity to earn people’s trust,” he said.