City of Tshwane has its hands full as social housing backlog worsens

As consumers continue to feel the pressure of the rising cost of living, the Housing Company Tshwane, which develops, owns, and manages social housing in the city, says the demand for social housing in the capital continues to grow.

There is currently a backlog of residents looking for social housing in the Tshwane metro with 30 000 families needing to be accommodated within a 30-kilometre radius of economic nodes.

The City of Johannesburg is also faced with a similar challenge, facing a housing backlog of 460 000 residential units.

The City of Tshwane currently has four projects which will assist about 3 000 families in the “missing middle” who earn between R1 500 – R15 000 a month.

“You need to bring people closer to their working environment. So you need to create communities where people can live, work and play because the biggest challenge is that the missing middle is spending a lot of time on the road and less time with their families. They are spending a lot on transport money,” says Housing Company Tshwane’s chief executive officer, Obakeng Nyundu.