Answer to a question from a reader

I get an error reading when I check my RDP application on the housing website. What can I do?

The short answer

You can go to the municipal office where you made your application.

The whole question

I applied for an RDP house in 2006, and until today I haven’t heard anything. Every time I go onto the website to check my status it gives me an error reading. My contact details have changed, but my ID number is the same. People in Sky City who applied for an RDP after me have received houses. What do I need to do?

The long answer

Over the last few years there has been a great deal of dissatisfaction about the allocation of RDP houses in the vicinity of Sky City in Gauteng, with different communities clashing over who should get the houses. Many people have complained of corruption in the allocation of houses, and that people who registered after them have received houses while they are still waiting. It is very hard to be waiting for so long, but it is something that a lot of people are experiencing.

If you get an error reading on the website when you try to check on your application, this may be because your contact details have not been updated, even though your ID number obviously remains the same. It might be best to take your ID and proof of registration to the municipal office where you made your application, and ask them to assist you in finding out what the status of your application is, and to update the contact details for you if that is the reason for the error reading.

The government’s Housing Enquiries Hotline is 0800 146 873, and the telephone number for the Gauteng Housing Department is 011 355 4000.

If the municipality is not able to help you, ask them for the contact details of your provincial MEC for housing. Although the municipality deals with housing, the MEC is allowed to review each case individually if you appeal to him.

Answered on Aug. 19, 2020, 12:14 p.m.

See more questions and answers

Please note. We are not lawyers or financial advisors. We do our best to make the answers accurate, but we cannot accept any legal liability if there are errors.