The short answer
Given your circumstances, you could try contacting your local housing office and ask them to help you. Depending on your circumstances, you might qualify for a different housing programme.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
I applied for an RDP house in 1996 before giving birth to my second child, after my abusive husband chased me away. The house we were living in was in his name and not even a government subsidy, so I was shocked when my RDP application was rejected. I am at a complete loss on what to do. I am 60 years old and fear I will never have a home of my own.
The long answer
It is certainly a very hard situation for you, especially as the house you lived in was not in your name. But the rule is that you cannot get an RDP house if you have owned a house previously, and that will include one that is in your husband’s name. But as you have suffered much abuse at your former husband’s hands and are sixty years old now, I think it would be worth making a sworn certified affidavit about what happened to you, and your pressing need for a house of your own.
You should put in all the details, names and dates about what happened to you with your ex husband, the fact that you are an older person now, and the reasons why they should help you to get an RDP house. Perhaps an organisation like the Black Sash which gives paralegal advice could help you draw up the affidavit. You could also contact the Women’s Legal Centre. I will give their contact details later in this letter. You could start by taking a certified copy of the affidavit to the municipality where you applied for the RDP house and say that you know the rule about why you can’t get an RDP house, but that you ask them to take your circumstances into account. That is why you have made the affidavit.
Take careful note of the date and the name of the person you deal with at the municipality. If they are not helpful, you should send or take a certified copy of the affidavit to the MEC of Housing in your province with a letter explaining why you are sending it to him. The MEC of Housing in each province has the power to change a municipality’s decision if they think it is a wrong decision.
In Limpopo, since 24 March 2025, the MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) in Limpopo, which includes the housing portfolio, is Basikopo Makamu.
The street address for the MEC for COGHSTA in Limpopo is 28 Market Street & 20 Rabe Street, Polokwane.
Tel: 015 284 5000
These are the contact details for the Black Sash:
Email: help@blacksash.org.za
Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865.
These are the contact details for the Women’s Legal Cente:
021 424 5660
GroundUp has a guide explaining government housing projects, which you can read here: https://groundup.org.za/article/everything-you-need-know-about-government-housing/
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
Answered on April 4, 2025, 4:06 p.m.
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