Parliament has turned up the heat over Communicare elderly evictions after years of tension between the social housing provider and its older tenants. The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has asked the national Department of Human Settlements to fast track a forensic investigation into Communicare. It also wants a halt to evictions of elderly tenants while that work takes place.
Committee chair Nocks Seabi said members received detailed briefings on eviction cases that stretch back to 2018. The committee now wants investigators to unpack ownership of the housing stock, how it was funded and whether Communicare complied with the Social Housing Act in how it runs those properties.
Money, audits and unanswered questions
A central part of the Communicare elderly evictions debate is funding. MPs want clarity on whether Communicare received public money through housing schemes and if it respected the conditions attached to those funds. They believe the answers sit at the heart of how the organisation should treat long term tenants, especially older people with limited income.
The committee has also criticised delays in a full audit of residents, which should have identified tenants who qualify for other state housing options. That audit has not reached the finish line, and elderly tenants remain stuck in legal disputes while they wait for certainty about where they will live.
Housing rights for older South Africans
Seabi has stressed that social housing should help fix apartheid-era spatial inequality, support mixed communities and boost local economies. It should not push vulnerable people out of their homes. The committee accepts that tenants must honour rental agreements. At the same time it wants Communicare to weigh up each tenant’s history and current circumstances before it turns to eviction.
For many residents the Communicare elderly evictions fight offers a chance to force clear answers on how social housing providers use public funds and how they treat the older South Africans who depend on them for a stable home.
