Over 200 families have received the title deeds for their new homes in Statice Heights, as part of the City of Cape Town’s commitment to address the housing backlog in the Athlone area and allow residents the dignity and economic benefits of home ownership.
Executive Mayor, Alderman Patricia de Lille, and Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Ernest Sonnenberg, handed over the title deeds to the beneficiaries of the Kewtown Infill Housing Project on 13 November 2012.
The People’s Housing Project saw a total of 236 two-bedroom 40m² homes being built. The beneficiaries are drawn from Kewtown, Bokmakierie and Belgravia, and all have taken occupation.
The negotiations which led to this project started 10 years ago, with land being identified in Kewtown, an established area which is also close to economic opportunities and transport routes.
“The provision of new housing opportunities and the affording of title in existing developments are important elements in helping citizens access economic opportunities as well as to redress past imbalances in home ownership,” the Executive Mayor said.
“Title enables debt finance to be accessed, as well as a range of other positive benefits that enable community members to become full and productive members of society.”
She described the handover of title deeds as a “celebration of the community’s achievement and an acknowledgement of how the facilitation of title deeds leads to true community transformation”.
The Executive Mayor also thanked the beneficiaries for the constructive manner in which they helped facilitate the project, and for their patience.
