Millions of South African households live in subsidy houses without a registered title deed. The backlog persists because of stalled township establishment processes, incomplete beneficiary records, and fragmented administrative data. Without a title deed, homeowners cannot securely transfer or leverage their property, while municipalities lack a reliable basis for rates administration and planning.
Under the auspices of the National Treasury's Cities Support Programme, the project team has been working on the Titling Backlog Restoration Project. The project aims to understand where and why title deeds become delayed and to develop practical tools to help unblock the process. The work has included close engagement with municipal and provincial officials addressing the backlog in the pilot city of Ekurhuleni, as well as detailed analysis of township establishment processes and available administrative data. These efforts have informed the development of systems and tools to diagnose, track, and resolve township and transfer backlogs.
Join the Cities Support Programme, Operation Vulindlela, and the City of Ekurhuleni for a showcase of two key project tools:
- Titling Framework: Maps the township development pathway from raw land through to the registration of individual freehold title, highlighting key processes, requirements, and common bottlenecks.
- Title Deed Backlog Dashboard: Provides the best available estimate of South Africa's title deed backlog, with provincial, municipal, and township-level detail to support planning and prioritisation.
The webinar will take place on Thursday, 8 October 2026 at 15:30 (SAST). The session will present these tools, demonstrate how they can be applied in practice, and provide an opportunity for practitioners and officials to discuss the challenges they face in addressing the titling backlog. The webinar is intended for municipal and provincial housing officials, conveyancers, planners, and other stakeholders working to close the titling gap.
Register here.
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