New Cape Town By-Law - Stimulates Micro-Developers in Lower-Income Areas
Last week, the City of Cape Town made some important changes to its planning rules (called the Municipal Planning By-law, or MPBL). These changes are all about making it easier to build small-scale developments, encouraging people to move from informal shacks into proper, affordable rental homes, and stopping illegal building work.
The amendment introduces a new land-use right that allows homeowners in 194 designated communities to legally build affordable rental units on their properties. These areas have seen rapid densification over the past decade, particularly through backyarder dwellings and informal structures, where an estimated 1.2 Million residents now live in informal structures in Cape Town.
According to the Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, micro-developers in townships have already been meeting housing demand at a scale the State cannot match. He stressed that micro-developers in lower-income communities are already getting on with meeting housing demand by building many thousands more units every year than the State could ever possibly hope to deliver.
Making Affordable Housing Easier to Build
As part of a bigger plan to get more affordable homes built, the City of Cape Town is now offering more help to small-scale developers in poorer areas. This includes:
- Cheaper fees for development through a new fund.
- Ready-made building plans that are already approved, saving time and money.
- Discounts on utilities (like electricity and water) for social housing projects.
- Making more public land available for affordable housing.
- Publishing rules for land discounts so that City-owned land can be sold much cheaper for these projects.
Addressing Informal Housing and Backyard Dwellings
The City of Cape Town recognizes that many informal structures and backyard rooms are being built quickly. So, the new rules introduce a new type of permission that allows people to build affordable rental flats and extra living units in busy areas. There are some limits though:
- On one property, you can build up to eight small, affordable rental units plus a main house.
- If there's no main house, you can build up to 12 units.
These changes are important because they allow the City of Cape Town to control development in crowded areas. This means ensuring that these new units meet national building safety standards and are properly connected to essential services like electricity, water, and sanitation.
Cracking Down on Illegal Building
To stop illegal building and demolition work, the City of Cape Town has added a new rule that lets them take away movable property (like tools or equipment) used for such work. This applies to items belonging to both the developer and the contractor.
New Zoning Name and Mixed-Use Development
- The old "Single Residential zoning" is now called "Residential Zoning" (R1). This still allows for single-family homes but also permits other uses in low to medium-density areas.
- To encourage a mix of different types of buildings and to lower development costs, certain areas like Diep River, Bellville, and Parow are now considered "incentive overlay zones." This means properties in these areas get better building rights.
Other Changes
The new rules also aim to control the installation of renewable energy systems, such as wind turbines and solar panels. Additionally, the City of Cape Town can now use email to contact and inform people who might be affected by or interested in planning matters.
The City hasn't announced when these new rules will officially start.