GOOD Press Statement by Suzette Little ,
GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor & Caucus Chairperson
21 February 2025
Imagine your landlord took over a year to address your maintenance complaints. Sadly, that is the reality for many of the City of Cape Town’s affordable Community Residential Units (CRU). On Thursday residents of Atlantis rental units were “treated” to a maintenance blitz. However this maintenance and upgrade work is long overdue.
In February 2024, I logged multiple maintenance concerns with the City’s Human Settlements Department. Residents had logged various maintenance issues but after receiving reference numbers, they were never assisted.
By March 2024, I had personally submitted 142 Complaints to the City on behalf of residents. Complaints varied but included faulty DB boards, faulty plugs, broken geysers, leaking taps and toilets, blocked sewer system, sagging ceilings, damaged doors, windows and fences.
At the time, the response we received from an official from the City’s Human Settlements department was “Currently we do not generate enough revenue to do the maintenance timeously because tenants do not pay their rent consistently.” By definition, the residents of the (CRU) are low-income individuals, with a household income of between R0 – R 3 500 per month. They like everyone have been struggling with the rising cost of living.
When I followed up this year, the same official said the department was planning a maintenance day to attend to the other outstanding maintenance complaints.
But the issue of poor maintenance and delayed waiting periods is not isolated to the Atlantis CRUs. At the same time of the Atlantis Blitz, my fellow GOOD councillor Siyabulela Mamkeli was undertaking a Site Inspection in Lavender Hill , Muir Court and De Korte Court following complaints by residents. The visit exposed ageing asbestos roofs, sagging ceilings missing windowpanes and broken gutters.
As the landlords of these properties, the city has an obligation to attend to regular maintenance.
During Thursday’s Blitz, Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements Carl Pophaim said the city “is committed to investing over R1,2 billion in the coming years into CRUs across the metro, aiming to elevate the living standards of our residents.”
As GOOD we will be holding Pophaim to his commitment.
Media Enquiries:
Suzette Little, GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor & Caucus Chairperson
Cell: 073 321 5036
Email: suzettel@forgood.org.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 083 5509875
Email: samantha@forgood.org.za