My father died a few years ago and did not leave a will. Who inherits his council house?

The long answer

As far as I can see, the Occupancy Survey in 2019 that you mention may have been part of a General Household Survey conducted by Statistics SA in 2019 in Cape Town. The City of Cape Town says that every two or three years, it records physical dwelling types (formal vs. informal backyard units), access to basic municipal services (water, sanitation, electricity), land tenure/ownership status, and household migration patterns. But a survey like that is for information purposes only.

In terms of who owns the house: if your father had bought the house from the Council, the title deed would still be in his name, though legally it cannot remain in your father’s name after he has died. When the owner of a property dies, the property has to be transferred into the name of the new owner/s, or sold, as it cannot remain in the name of a deceased person.

If you are not sure whose name is on the title deed, you could ask the municipality to tell you in whose name the house was registered, as they will have copies of all the documents. You can also call the City’s contact centre at all hours on 0860 103 089.

If your father owned the house and did not leave a will, the house would fall under the Intestate Succession Act. That means that all three siblings would have an equal share in the house. 

The way it works is that a person’s death should be reported to the Master of the High Court within 14 days of the death, with a copy of the death certificate, any will, ID, and marriage certificate, if applicable. Then the Master would appoint an executor (for properties valued at over R250,000) or a Representative with a Letter of Authority (for properties valued at under R250,000). If there is no will, the family members can nominate the person they want the Master to appoint as executor or representative. This can be a family member.

The job of the executor or representative is to wind up or administer the deceased estate: that means paying any debts and seeing that the rightful heirs inherit. No one besides the executor has the right to take any decisions about the deceased estate. The executor will employ a transfer attorney (a conveyancer) to transfer the title deeds to the new owner/s at the Deeds Office. 

If your father did not own the house, but rented it from the Council, you would not automatically inherit the right to the lease of a council house, but as you have been living in the house, the Council would generally help you to take over the lease. 

You could go to your nearest municipal housing estate office or local housing department with your father’s death certificate and proof of your relationship (such as your birth certificate). You could formally request to take over the existing lease and provide proof that you live in the house. 

Also, you may be interested to know that in October 2022, the Mayor of Cape Town announced a new scheme called the No Cost Transfer Programme, to help tenants to become owners of their council houses. Before, tenants could buy their houses from the City, but they needed to pay half the transfer costs themselves, and these costs can be very high. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the City would now cap transfer costs at R2,500, no matter how much the property costs, to help people become homeowners.

For more advice, you can contact the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure Help Desk at 021 483 6488.

Or the Housing hotline at 021 444 0333.

Or the Customer Care hotline at 0800 323 130.

Or WhatsApp at 063 299 9927.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie