Graffiti recently appeared on the Sea Point promenade in Cape Town, South Africa, reading: “Digital nomads go home! Now!” This act reflects growing tensions over rising housing costs and a perceived influx of foreign residents, with complaints surfacing on social media regarding American and German accents, foreign property purchases, and the prevalence of Airbnb rentals.
A Deepening Housing Crisis
Property prices in Cape Town have increased by 31% over the last five years, a rate double that of other metropolitan municipalities in South Africa. Rents also rose significantly last year, increasing by 5-7% and exceeding the national average. However, the current housing difficulties build upon a pre-existing crisis, rooted in the lasting geographic inequalities established during the apartheid era.
Townships, established during apartheid to forcibly relocate non-white populations, remain largely segregated and impoverished. Informal settlements have expanded, and as of September 2024, over 400,000 people were on the city’s waiting list for social housing. Currently, 18.8% of Cape Town’s residents live in informal housing.
A Complex Web of Factors
Cape Town attracts a diverse population, including those relocating from other parts of South Africa, retirees, and digital nomads. Experts note that the city has historically lacked sufficient housing and infrastructure development to accommodate this growth. A professor at the University of the Free State, Ivan Turok, stated that the city previously held a “somewhat conservative mentality” regarding growth, but that this is beginning to change.
City spokesperson Jean-Marie de Waal Pressly said that since November 2021, more land has been released for affordable housing than in the previous decade, with 12,000 affordable units planned. The city aims to address the legacy of apartheid-era spatial planning by integrating jobs and housing.
Personal Stories and Broader Concerns
A viral TikTok video featuring Alexandra Hayes, a 31-year-old freelance worker, brought the issue to the forefront. Hayes tearfully explained that her lease was not renewed because the landlord intended to list the property on Airbnb, leaving her and her daughter facing homelessness. The video sparked both empathy and criticism, with some commenters suggesting that those struggling with housing costs should move to the outskirts of the city.
Current affairs commentator Amahle-Imvelo Jaxa noted that the conversation around housing in Cape Town has been ongoing for years, and that previous discussions often dismissed the concerns of those unable to afford city living. Hayes herself acknowledged that the end of apartheid did not address the disparities in infrastructure and development between historically white and non-white areas.
Concerns also exist regarding racial discrimination in the rental market, with one Nigerian non-profit worker reporting that she experiences longer wait times for responses from landlords compared to her Norwegian-Hungarian husband.
Frequently Asked Questions
What role does Airbnb play in the housing crisis?
We find more than 26,000 listings on Airbnb in Cape Town, with 82.6% being entire homes. This is a higher number than in cities like Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Los Angeles. Airbnb maintains that short-term rentals account for less than 0.9% of formal housing in Cape Town and that the fundamental problem is a lack of novel housing construction.
What is the city government doing to address the housing shortage?
The city government states that it has released more land for affordable housing since November 2021 than in the previous decade, with 12,000 affordable units in the pipeline. They are also introducing a bylaw to ensure short-term landlords pay commercial tax rates.
What is the historical context of the housing crisis in Cape Town?
The housing crisis is rooted in the geographic inequalities established during the apartheid era, where non-white people were forcibly moved to townships. These townships remain largely non-white and impoverished, and infrastructure development has historically lagged in these areas.
As Cape Town continues to grow and attract new residents, will the city be able to address the underlying issues of affordability and inequality that are fueling these tensions?