Homelessness in South Africa Homelessness in South Africa dates back to the apartheid period.[1] Increasing unemployment, lack of affordable housing, social disintegration, and social and economic policies have all been identified as contributing factors to the issue.[2] Some scholars argue that solutions to homelessness in South Africa lie more within the private sphere than in the legal and political spheres.[3] There is no national census on homeless people in South Africa, researchers instead rely on individual studies of homeless persons in particular cities.[4] In 2022, the South African homeless population was reported by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) to comprise a total of 55,719 individuals.[5] One study found that three quarters of South African metropolitan municipalities viewed homelessness primarily as a social dependency issue, responding with social interventions. At the same time, homeless South Africans indicated that the most important thing the municipality could assist them with was employment and well-located affordable housing.[6] HistoryEarly history through the 1800sIn the 19th century the main issues for the colonies was of squatting and vagrancy after much of the land was taken by white people to be farmed. Mid 19th century, under the colonial rule efforts were made to remove non-white people from white owned property, causing the displacement and a large wandering population looking for work.[7] The introduction of Cape's Vagrancy and Squatting Act (1878) and other legislation passed by the colonies, were enacted to change the status of vagrants or wanders living on the land into residential labour status to prevent any crime risks associated with the wandering population.[7] Apartheid periodDuring the apartheid period, racial segregation and anti-black policies were used to preserve white rule of the country.[8] Zoning laws controlled movement and places of residence for black people, forcing them into black townships in the white-ruled cities.[9] Visible homelessness was not allowed on the streets, so those who were homeless due to apartheid policies moved into shack settlements.[7] Natives Land Act 1913, known as the Black Land Act, legalised the use of racial distinction that denied rural black farmers access to land.[10] Formed forced 'scheduled areas' that prevented the buying and selling of land to make any profit. It encouraged segregation, controlled movement, and spatially segregated residence within urban areas, and expanded throughout the apartheid.[11] From this piece of legislation, more policies and legislation of racial segregation were enacted, limiting areas for blacks to live, forcing them into townships. The Native Land Act was the first piece of legislation to enforce territorial segregation and was the beginning of racial segregation in institutionalising it into South African legislation.[12]  In 1927, the first township called Langa was founded in Cape Town. In the 1950s, townships of Nyanga and Guglethu were developed and increased in size.[13] Severe housing shortages in 1968 led to overcrowding and people constructed informal illegal settlements throughout the cities.[13] CausesHomelessness is shaped by social and economic insecurity which is worsened by informal housing and lack of legislation by the government.[14] Financial pressure put on those living on the street is worsened as they have no ability to accumulate wealth, unlike the population living in shacks.[7] Unemployment is known to contribute to homelessness.[15] South Africa has seen an improvement in its unemployment rate, with the national average dropping from 36.2% in 2014[16] to 31.9% in 2025.[17] The South African economy is growing, and according to Statistics South Africa, it grew by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The growth was led by agriculture, finance, and trade on the supply (production) side of the economy. Household spending led growth on the demand (expenditure) side.[18]  High rates of migration into urban areas whereby the government is unable to cope with the influx.[19] Post-apartheid, free movement of non-white South Africans into areas that were restricted to them, resulting in not enough employment opportunities available.[20] PrevalenceDemographicsThe 2022 national census found that there were 55,719 homeless people in the country and that the metropolitan municipality with the largest proportion of South Africa's homeless population was Tshwane with 18.1% of all homeless people.[21] Other municipalities with a significant share of the country's homeless population were The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (15.6%), The City of Cape Town (11.9%), and eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (10.1%).[21] Gauteng province had the largest number of homeless people with 25,384 recorded individuals and the Western Cape had the second largest homeless population with a total of 9,743 recorded individuals.[21]
Those living on the streets are typically children or single adults, not families.[22] The street homeless population is predominantly black and male.[22] There is a higher prevalence of men on the street, while amongst those living in shacks, there is a larger female population. A profile of homeless people in Cape Town found that there were three times more males than females living in homeless shelters.[23] In 2004, rural areas had a higher proportion of homeless than in cities whereby a larger percentage of rural population is poorer than metropolitan areas.[24] The 2022 census showed that there was far more homelessness in non-metro areas as compared to metro regions. The rate of homelessness in non-metro areas was 25.9% - multiple times higher than many of South Africa's major metropolitan areas.[25] Street ChildrenLarge migration of street children across borders into South Africa originally come from other bordering countries such as Zimbabwe, this migration occurrence is an increasing situation facing homeless children.[22] A high percentage also come from urban townships compared to the higher rate of adults coming from rural areas. They are forced to leave as there is not enough resources to support them in poverty stricken living spaces.[26] Street Children suffer physical and psychological abuse and often develop a substance use disorder.[27] Advocacy response‘Surfers, Not Street Children’ is an advocacy group based in Durban, set up to teach street kids how to surf in order to help them foster connectedness. Its aim is to help them with psychological issues, caused by difficult childhoods.[28] NGO initiativesNumerous non-profits have addressed the homeless situation in South Africa, through various methods. In Cape Town, The Service Dining Rooms is an NGO that provides warm meals to the city's homeless population. In Cape Town CBD, the NGO operates a center that serves meals each weekday for R2. SDR, which relies entirely on public funding, owns the building out of which it operates, and has been running since 1935.[29] National government initiativesThere is no specific governmental policy to protect the homeless. A 2003 report found that there was no direct national housing plan for people who lived on the streets, but policy falls predominantly under the Housing and the Social Welfare sectors.[14] Public spending has gone towards supporting shelters for the homeless, however it is only remedial and not a long-term solution.[26] In 1994 after the end of apartheid, the new Department of Housing aimed to provide a million public houses over the next five years. To help alleviate homelessness, the provision of shelter to transition into more permanent living space was implemented by the department of housing as a result of 1994 White Paper on a New Housing and Policy Strategy for South Africa.[14] The social democratic ANC government of South Africa's first President, Nelson Mandela, implemented the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), a socio-economic policy, which oversaw many major advances in dealing with South Africa's most severe social problems, including those of inadequate and improper housing (created by the apartheid regime's urban apartheid system, including actions taken under the Group Areas Act.[30] Subsidised Housing is a programme that affords a beneficiary to acquire a house that is built and provided by the government, through a government subsidy. These homes are now called BNG houses, but they are still commonly referred to as "RDP Houses". The South African government still provides free homes under its Subsidised Housing program. In order to qualify, an individual should:
Applicants can take IDs, birth certificates, and proof of income (if they work) to their Provincial Department of Human Settlements or their Local Municipality, and submit an application for a subsidized house. The waiting period is usually 2 years, and housing development generally takes place within a planned and prioritized process, where the local conditions dictate which areas should receive assistance first. These government houses are illegal to sell within the first 8 years of residency. The only exception within this period is when a beneficiary sells the property to the relevant Provincial Department of Human Settlements. This type of voluntary sale occurs when a beneficiary, for whatever reason, chooses not keep the subsidy house. When their new home is complete, the beneficiary will be registered on the government housing database. When they receive their house, they sign a "Happy Letter". They receive their Title Deeds after 8 years. The entire process is free.[30] Local government initiativesCape TownAffordable housing development In recent years, Cape Town and the Western Cape province have embarked on a number of affordable housing developments. These include:[31]
Future developments in Cape Town are planned. The City of Cape Town has released key parcels of land in Woodstock, Salt River, and Maitland, which, being close to the CBD, are prime real estate locations. Their yield is over 4,000 units. In December 2024, the City also approved a public participation process to release prime municipal property in Green Point for mixed-use development, including affordable housing, at 1 Three Anchor Bay Road, close to the V&A Waterfront.[31] These developments aim to create a more equitable living environment in Cape Town, and the Western Cape Province. Cape Town has South Africa's highest average household income, its highest property value growth rates, and its lowest levels of unemployment. Cape Town's City Council is awaiting the release of national government-controlled land within the city's borders, which would unlock the development of around 100,000 units of affordable housing.[31] Cape Town defines affordable housing as residences catering to households earning an income of below R32,000 per month. The city has 3 categories of affordable housing:[33]
As of 2025, a total of 10 social housing estates have been built across Cape Town, with 3 of them located within 10 kilometers of Cape Town CBD. All affordable housing built as of 2025 has been social housing, with gap housing and Open market affordable housing planned by the City.[33] In July 2025, Western Cape MEC for Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, and Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, unveiled Cape Town CBD's largest ever government housing development project, called Founders Garden. The project will feature a high-rise, mixed-use development, and has a projected value of more than R2 billion. Located next to the Artscape Theatre - a prime location for being close to Cape Town CBD jobs and amenities - it will deliver 1,476 social housing units and 1,162 open market units, for a total of over 2,630 new homes.[34] Partnership with sheltersThrough its Rough Sleeper initiative, the City of Cape Town partners with local homeless shelters, to provide safe beds for those in need. In mid-2025, it was reported that the initiative had helped 5,000 individuals to get off the streets.[35] The program also offers aid to fight substance abuse issues, obtain ID documents and social grants, and provide meals and personal development planning. It is also centered around reuniting families. The City partners with shelters across the metro to provide these services.[35] Social WelfareSouth Africa has one of the most extensive social welfare systems among the world's developing countries.[36] In 2019, an estimated 18 million people in South Africa received some form of social grant provided by the government.[37] LiteratureChild homelessness in South Africa has been portrayed in the novel Thirteen Cents by K. Sello Duiker.[38] Homelessness in South African cities has been portrayed in art in a controversial piece titled Birds in a Cornfield.[39] See also
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