PRESS STATEMENT 31 October 2024
Yesterday, 30 October 2024, Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) lodged an objection to the proposed redevelopment of a 40-storey mixed-use building in the Cape Town Central Business District, which includes 442 micro-apartments. The objection highlights significant concerns regarding the impact of these small-sized units on the city’s housing landscape, particularly their potential transformation into short-term rentals, further exacerbating the housing crisis.
While the developer promotes the project to enhance housing supply in the CBD, they resist commitments to a formal affordable housing quota. The proposed micro-apartments, often marketed as “affordable,” are inadequate for family living, with sizes ranging between 15m² and 30m², rendering them unsuitable for many local residents.
According to Dr Jonty Cogger, an attorney at Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre:
Micro-apartments may appear cost-effective on the surface, but they ultimately serve as a vehicle for profit maximisation rather than addressing the urgent need for inclusive and genuinely affordable housing. This development risks pushing local families further from economic hubs, reinforcing patterns of exclusion and inequality.
The rise of short-term rentals, such as those listed on platforms like Airbnb, has already removed thousands of homes from the long-term rental market in Cape Town. Allowing micro-apartments without stringent conditions for affordable housing threatens to deepen this crisis, leaving vulnerable residents with limited options for stable, long-term housing.
As Cape Town navigates its post-pandemic recovery, the Municipal Planning Tribunal must prioritise inclusivity and spatial justice in its decision-making. NU urges the Municipal Planning Tribunal to enforce a binding affordable housing quota for this development to ensure equitable access to housing in the city.
- Read Ndifuna Ukwazi’s Objection here
- Read the Application here
- Read Ndifuna Ukwazi’s “Regulating the Private Sector” report here.
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