CAPE TOWN – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has taken the City of Cape Town to the Western Cape High Court in a bid to block the transfer of 49 municipal properties sold at public auction in February pending a review of the City’s decision to dispose of them.
The sites up for transfer span communities across the city, with properties in Mitchells Plain, Maitland, Goodwood, Kraaifontein, Somerset West and Durbanville among those caught up in the court challenge. It also includes the Good Hope Centre.
The litigation follows the SAHRC’s intervention in February 2026, when it raised concerns about the sale of municipal properties against the background of Cape Town’s shortage of affordable housing and persistent spatial inequality.
In a statement to the media, the commission said it questioned whether the City had properly considered the potential of the properties to contribute to affordable and social housing before offering them for sale.
The commission stated that it was particularly concerned that the proposed disposals were not subject to legally enforceable conditions requiring purchasers to provide affordable or social housing. It also questioned the adequacy of the public participation processes relied upon by the City, some of which dated back to 2010.
In February 2026, the commission met with executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, to raise the concerns, and to subsequently request that the auction be postponed to allow for further engagement and proper consideration of the constitutional implications of the disposals.
“The City declined the request, and the auction proceeded. However, the Commission continued to engage the City, including the Speaker of Council, regarding its concerns.”
The commission further seeks an order declaring the disputed decisions unconstitutional, unlawful, irrational and invalid, reviewing and setting them aside, and referring the matter back to the City for reconsideration.
It contends that the decisions failed to comply with constitutional and statutory obligations concerning housing, spatial justice, public participation and the disposal of municipal assets.
“Public land is a finite resource, and its disposal has lasting consequences for the residents of Cape Town. The Commission seeks to ensure that decisions concerning the disposal of municipal properties consider the urgent need for affordable housing and the constitutional imperative to address South Africa’s enduring spatial inequalities thereby serving a legitimate governmental purpose.” they stated.
Mayor hits back calls it electioneering
In response, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the SAHRC is behaving like a political party, not a credible Chapter 9 organisation.
“This interdict attempt comes some six months after the SAHRC’s initial enquiries were addressed by the City,” the Mayor said. “It appears more like electioneering coming a week before elections, and many months or even years after these individual sites have been through extensive land release processes, including public participation.”
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He furthermore stated that the SAHRC made no objections then, nor has it made any similar objections to land release in other cities.
“‘If they want to throw away their credibility trying to stop any policy differentiation that delivers better public outcomes in Cape Town, fine, but we will oppose them vigorously.”
“While the SAHRC claims its interdict application is affordable housing-related, the 49 sites do in fact include 28 residential-zoned properties to serve the local demand for housing in various areas,” he said adding that commercial and industrial opportunities were similarly available during the transparent public auction process and aimed at creating employment and economic activity.
City defends its housing numbers
The City pushed back against criticism of its affordable housing track record, pointing to 14 sites already released for that purpose including six in the inner city producing a total of 7 000 residential units. Of those, 4 000 are earmarked as affordable housing and 2 500 as social housing, the City stated.
The City also pointed to completed, fully tenanted projects being more than 200 social rental units at Maitland Mews in the inner city, over 1 000 units at Goodwood Station, and more than 400 at Bothasig Gardens.
The City stated, hat a further 39 sites are in the release pipeline, 11 of them in the CBD, with a projected combined yield of 40 000 units. That figure includes 21 000 affordable housing units and 1 500 social housing units.
According to the City, its human settlements department has delivered 12 401 units to residents over the past five years and maintains roughly 50 000 council flats at an annual cost of R977 million without any state grant funding.
