Answer to a question from a reader

Can my wife's application for a house in Mitchells Plain be transferred to Eerste River?

The short answer

Yes, but you'll still have to wait on the Eerste River waiting list.

The whole question

My wife applied for a house in 1994 in Mitchells Plain and she's been waiting for a very long time. In 2012 I applied for a house in Eerste River and was told that I would wait for a long time before receiving one. When I met my wife, she told me that she applied for a house back in 1994 and I told her we need to find out what we can do. At the housing office in Eerste River, they told me that my application falls away because my wife applied in 1994 in Mitchells Plain. Since she applied in 1994 already and still has no house, and seeing that I had an application in Eerste River, can her application (which is now our application) be transferred to Eerste River?

The long answer

Perhaps you and your wife should start by going to the Mitchells Plain housing office where she originally applied in 1994, taking all her application documents and yours, and ask them to transfer the 1994 application to Eerste River. 

From the FAQ on the website of the Human Settlements Department, where a person asked if they could get a house in Gauteng after they had originally applied in Limpopo, the answer was:    

“Yes, remember that you can only get a subsidy once. So if you have not acquired a house in Limpopo you may apply anywhere in the country. However you would have to wait your turn again in the new area where you have applied, as that area will also have a waiting list.”

This would seem to indicate that your wife’s 1994 application (now your joint application) can be transferred to Eerste River, but that you would still have to wait in the Eerste River waiting list.

If the housing office in Mitchells Plain does not assist you to transfer the application, you could contact the Department of Human Settlements in Cape Town and ask them to explain how to transfer a 1994 application in Mitchells Plain to Eerste River. You would need to have all your wife’s application documents as well as your own.

These are their contact details:

Address: 27 Wale Street, Cape Town, 8001

Telephone: 021 483 2868

Housing Queries:
Colleen Smart
Tel: 021 483 0675     
Cell: 072 825 3257
Email: Colleen.Smart@westerncape.gov.za

Answered on June 24, 2020, 12:36 p.m.

See more questions and answers

Please note. We are not lawyers or financial advisors. We do our best to make the answers accurate, but we cannot accept any legal liability if there are errors.