My mother died just as her application for an RDP house was approved. Will we, as her surviving children, be given the house?

The long answer

The Western Cape Government in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) leaflet in 2025, gave this answer to the following question:

 16. What happens when an approved beneficiary dies before he/ she occupies the house?

Answer: In this case the surviving spouse only (not a dependent) must contact the organisation that is responsible for the project to benefit. 

Your mother, or mother and father, would have listed you children as dependents on their RDP application, but dependents are not beneficiaries as such. Your mother, or mother and father, whose names were on the application and who were registered on the government database, would have been the actual beneficiaries of the house.

Being approved for an RDP house is not the same as ownership: approval is the first step. Only when your mother had received the house, would she have been registered as an owner and would eventually be given a title deed, signifying that she was the legal owner of the house.  As the legal owner, she could leave the house to whomever she wished in her will, but if she did not make a will, her children would inherit the house in equal shares, in terms of the Intestate Succession Act.  

Perhaps the best thing to do is to go to the municipality where she made the application, and ask them for their advice. It is the government’s policy that RDP houses should stay in the family, but as the house had not yet been awarded to your mother, they may tell you that you need to make your own RDP application.

If that is the case, ask them to assist you with your application. 

You could also ask the Black Sash, which gives free paralegal advice, to advise you.

These are their contact details:

• Black Sash

• Email: help@blacksash.org.za and info@blacksash.org.za

• Tel (national office): 021 686 6952

Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865 

Wishing you the best,
Athalie