Answers to your questions
Have a question you would like answered? Email us and we may answer it. The questions here are based on ones from our readers, with identifying information removed.
Please note: GroundUp is just a news agency. We are not lawyers or financial advisors, and we have nothing to do with SASSA, Home Affairs, or any other government bodies. We do our best to make the answers accurate using publicly available information, but we cannot accept any legal liability if there are errors. If you notice any discrepancies, please email [email protected].
Topic: Housing | Show questions and answers for all topics
How can my siblings and I handle disagreements about the house we inherited from our parents?
Use a mediator or a Master of the High Court to help resolve the disagreements.
Can the municipality evaluate my late father's RDP house?
The municipality can perform an evaluation on your father's RDP house.
A person died months after getting an RDP house. Their neighbour, who also received an RDP house, bought it. Can I lodge a complaint?
You can report an illegal sale of an RDP house to the SAPS and your local Housing Department.
How can I check if my mother's RDP house was sold illegally?
You will need to visit municipal housing office where your mother applied to ask them whether you would be able to claim back her RDP.
My late father used another child's birth certificate to apply for an RDP house. The child was listed as the beneficiary and has passed. What can I do to correct this?
Go to your housing municipality and confirm that the birth certificate used was fraudulent and then file a formal complaint.
My late grandmother's council house was taken over by my sister, who has evicted me twice and likely doesn't pay rent. How can I get her out?
You can go to your local housing office with your grandmother's death certificate to find out whose name the tenancy is in and request to take it over.
I was forced to move from a flat I was renting and now my landlord and his agent are withholding my deposit. Please help!
You can take your landlord to a Small Claims Court or reach out to the Rental Housing Tribunal.
I applied for an RDP house in 2002 but never received it, yet records wrongly show me as having received one.
Make a sworn affidavit stating that you have never benefited from any RDP house, submit it to your municipality, and escalate the matter to the MEC if necessary.
My mother has right to live on a farm under ESTA, can I remain there after her death and would I be compensated for the house she built if I can't?
Only your mother that has permission to stay out her lifetime under ESTA provisions. The landowner is required to compensate you for the building of the house.
Can I legally claim ownership of an RDP house sold to me by someone who isn't the deceased owner's legal heir?
If the deceased father did not leave a will, the law of Intestate Succession applies. If the son was not named on the title deed, he is not authorised to sell the house.