Answers to your questions

Have a question you would like answered? Email us and we may answer it. The questions here are based on ones from our readers, with identifying information removed.

Please note: GroundUp is just a news agency. We are not lawyers or financial advisors, and we have nothing to do with SASSA, Home Affairs, or any other government bodies. We do our best to make the answers accurate using publicly available information, but we cannot accept any legal liability if there are errors. If you notice any discrepancies, please email [email protected].

Topic: Housing | Show questions and answers for all topics

Can the only surviving adult child evict the grandchildren from their late grandmother’s house if there is no will?

No, they cannot evict their deceased mother’s grandchildren from her house. Your uncle is entitled to a share of the home as is the dependents of his deceased sibling's children.

Housing Inheritance

How can I check the status of my father's RDP application if he applied with a Dompas? Using his ID number does not work.

You need an ID to apply for an RDP house, so I'm not sure how it would work with a Dompas. He should go to the municipality with his ID and ask for help.

Housing

My mother's RDP was given to someone she doesn't know in another province. They're wrongly listed as her spouse. What can we do?

Your mother should return to the municipality where she applied for the RDP house with her documents and ask them to investigate how it was wrongly awarded to someone she doesn’t know.

Housing

How can someone buy an abandoned house if the previous owners can't prove ownership?

They could go to the Deeds Office to see if there is a title deed, otherwise legal assistance may be required.

Housing

Can I get my parent's RDP house if they passed away before getting the key?

If the house had been awarded to your parent before they passed away, you should be able to get the house (unless they wrote a will saying otherwise).

Housing Inheritance

Do I have any rights to fight for my grandmother's house, which her son, my uncle, has since sold?

If you were one of the dependents named in her RDP application, this would not give you the right to inherit the house.

Housing

Is it possible to transfer an RDP application from one province to another?

Unfortunately not. If your application was not approved or if it was approved but you never received a house, you can cancel your application and submit a new one somewhere else.

Housing

What rental rights do I have as a backyard dweller on council property?

As you are paying rent, you can complain to the Rental Housing Tribunal.

Housing

I applied for housing 20 years ago, but I'm no longer with the person I applied with, and I have since married someone else. How do I proceed?

If you and your previous partner received a house, neither of you would be granted another subsidy. If you were not allocated a house, you should update your application with the municipality.

Housing

I was chased from my home by my abusive husband. Now I don't qualify for an RDP house. Is there anything I can do?

Given your circumstances, you could try contacting your local housing office and ask them to help you. Depending on your circumstances, you might qualify for a different housing programme.

Housing