A mood of relief and happiness engulfed Macassar Old Hall on Tuesday 19 July when 78 beneficiaries were handed title deeds by the City of Cape Town.
“We congratulate and celebrate with each of them. Being empowered with title deeds to become first-time property owners is an important milestone. Thank you to the teams and officials who have made this possible,” stated the City’s Mayco member for human settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.
The group forms part of more than 160 beneficiaries that had been identified in Macassar to receive their title deeds.
Ward 109 Councillor Peter Helfrich called the day “momentous” and said he was honoured to have been part of a programme that empowered the community as homeowners.
He said: “As someone who grew up in this ward it is the greatest honour of my life to be able to make it possible for residents to live in dignity in a home they can now call their own. Handing these title deeds over will not only ensure that we provide residents with dignity and help bring about redress, but we are also providing residents with an investment that grows in value. It is an asset for them, their loved ones and future generations.”
It was a bittersweet moment for title-deed recipient Ava Booysen, who lost her husband, Isaac, four years to the day on 18 July.
“My husband would’ve been so happy. This is a lifelong dream we’ve had and today is just a great day,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Rozelle Phillips, said she’s finally at ease.
“This has been such a long time coming and feels so unreal that the day has finally arrived,” she said. “I am beyond happy, I’m finally a homeowner.”
Booi added that over the past decade, the City has restored some 10 000 historic property transfers to residents, and that in December 2021 the Western Cape Government allocated R12,4 million to the City for this purpose.
“Historic property transfers will continue to be prioritised and we look forward to assisting many more residents over the coming months. Historic title deeds are often challenging ones from old projects that were completed many years ago, but where the developer or City have been unable to trace beneficiaries, or details have been incorrectly given, or a number of other factors that make tracking and verification of title holders complex.
“We remind residents who are residing in older City housing projects to approach us so that we may also assist them with their title deeds if they do not have one.”
- Beneficiaries of older housing projects who have not received their title deeds are encouraged to send an email to ownership.delivery@capetown.gov.za.
