I am disabled and I use a wheelchair, I have been on the housing list for years now, how can get I housing in Cape Town?

The long answer

To help understand this situation, I’ll give a bit of historical context: 

There was a White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was approved by the Cabinet on 9 December 2015. It linked South Africa to the international, legally binding United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to ensure that all persons with disabilities enjoy all human rights on an equal basis with others. And that ‘No one is Left Behind’.

But like so many good ideas in South Africa, the White Paper didn’t come to much because, without laws to enforce it, there was no accountability for allocating a budget and seeing that things were done. These things were left to government departments. The Final Evaluation of the White Paper in 2023 found that while some reforms were made, like accessibility and reasonable accommodation for disabled people, much of the White Paper was not implemented due to a lack of consequence management.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)‘s 2017-2018 Equality Report found that government policy and conduct were failing to reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities. It was recommended that the SAHRC should be given the resources to see that the White Paper was properly implemented.  A person can report such failures to the SAHRC, which I will give details about later.

As you probably know, wheelchair users and people with disabilities are supposed to be given priority for RDP houses, and those houses are supposed to be adapted to suit people with disabilities – like ramps, wider doors and more accessible toilets. And while RDP houses are supposed to be for people with dependents, a disabled single person can qualify for an RDP house without having dependents.

Although in the Western Cape, registration on the housing database for ten years or more is usually required, a 2021 Groundup article by Mary-Anne Gontsana quoted the Department of Human Settlements head at the time, Nathan Adriaanse, as saying that the most vulnerable applicants, like the elderly and disabled, were prioritised. 

Gontsana also quoted Malusi Booi, Mayoral Committee Member for Housing at the time, saying that of the 347,000 applicants with “waiting status” registered on the City’s Housing Needs Register, about 3,800 had disabilities. He said the register was continuously updated.

In 2021, the overall waiting list for houses in Cape Town was 550,000. In 2026 it is over 600,000. A 25 February 2026 Groundup article by Steve Kretzmann says that less than 2,500 houses have been handed over each year for the last five years. 

There is a huge housing backlog, while about 16,000 people settle in Cape Town every year. At the same time, the National Department of Human Settlements has made budget cuts to the province of millions of rands. Thus, says Kretzmann, state-funded housing isn’t likely to meet the growing demand for housing, and there needs to be more private investment in housing.

That’s the big picture, and so what can you do?

1. If you’ve been on the housing list for years, you should make sure that your contact details are updated for 2026. You can check or update your details online using the City of Cape Town's Housing Needs Register Online. You will be asked to enter your ID number to find your status on the Housing Database. You must also type the special characters before clicking 'Next'.

Note: If your cell phone number has changed, you need to update your information at the nearest City-run housing office, or you can phone the City Call Centre at 021 4440333 before you continue.

2. SMS: Send your 13-digit ID number, followed by a space and your surname, to 44108.

3. Visit Office: Go to your nearest local housing office (Human Settlements) to be sure that your details are listed correctly as a person with a disability, and update your contact information there if necessary.

You can also ask one of the following organisations to assist you, as you are a person with a disability who has been waiting for a very long time to be housed. These are their contact details:

• The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)

Email: info@sahrc.org.za 

Complaints: complaints@sahrc.org.za or submitted via their online portal

Tel: 011 877 3600

Western Cape Provincial SAHRC offices: 7th Floor ABSA Building, 132 Adderley Street, Cape Town

Email: wcfrontline@sahrc.org.za

Tel: 021 426 2277 

• Legal Aid South Africa is a state-funded, means-tested institution that provides free legal advice, assistance and representation to those who cannot afford it, particularly the poor and vulnerable. 

Email: communications2@legal-aid.co.za

Tel: 0800 110 110 (Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm)

Please-Call-Me: 079 835 7179  

• The Women’s Legal Centre Trust is an organisation that particularly supports women’s rights. 

  Tel: 021 424 5660

• Lawyers for Human Rights

Email: info@lhr.org.za

Tel: 021 424 8561

• Legal Resources Centre

Email: info@lrc.org.za

Tel: 021 879 2398

• The Black Sash, which gives free paralegal advice

Email: help@blacksash.org.za

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

Wishing you the best,
Athalie