Earlier this month, graffiti appeared on the promenade in Sea Point, a wealthy area along Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard. It read: “Digital nomads go home! Now!”
Social media is flooded with complaints about the growing number of American and German accents, foreign property buyers, and homes being listed on Airbnb—all of which are blamed for driving up housing costs.
Official data shows that over the past five years, property prices in Cape Town have risen by 31%, double the increase seen in South Africa’s seven other major metropolitan areas. According to property research firm The Africanvestor, rents grew by 5–7% last year, also above the national average.
Cape Town’s housing crisis began long before middle-class residents started feeling the pressure. As in much of South Africa, the geographic inequality of apartheid continues more than 30 years after the end of white minority rule. Townships—areas where non-white people were forcibly relocated from the 1960s—remain predominantly non-white and poor, and informal settlements have expanded rapidly.
Cape Town is widely regarded as South Africa’s best-run city, located in a province with the country’s lowest unemployment rate. This has attracted people from all income levels, including “semigrants” from other parts of the country, foreign and local retirees, and digital nomads.
However, experts say the city has long suffered from insufficient housing and infrastructure development. Between 2001 and 2022, Cape Town’s population grew by 65%, reaching 4.8 million. According to the most recent city data from September 2024, over 400,000 people were on the waiting list for social housing, while 18.8% of residents lived in informal housing.
Although the national government funds social housing, cities are responsible for infrastructure and services like waste collection. Ivan Turok, a professor at the University of the Free State who has studied housing in Cape Town, says the city long neglected these services for poorer residents moving in.
He explained, “There was a historically somewhat conservative mindset among civic leaders that Cape Town is an attractive and desirable city and would be spoiled by large-scale growth. That’s changing now because the city recognizes it’s inevitable.”
Jean-Marie de Waal Pressly, a spokesperson for the city government, said more land has been released for affordable housing since Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis took office in November 2021 than in the previous decade, with 12,000 affordable units in the pipeline. “The city is committed to reversing the impact of apartheid spatial planning by bringing jobs closer to people and bringing people closer to jobs,” he said.
In January, a video of 31-year-old Alexandra Hayes went viral. The freelance operations manager and waitress tearfully explained how she and her daughter were facing homelessness after her lease was not renewed because the landlord planned to list the property on Airbnb. The video resonated deeply, both with those who sympathized with Hayes and with non-white South Africans who responded with, “I told you so.”
“You guys thought you were the exception to the rule. Capitalism doesn’t give a damn about what race you are. You might be white, but you are South African,” said current affairs commentator Amahle-Imvelo Jaxa in a TikTok video that garnered nearly 700,000 views.
In an interview, Jaxa added, “The conversation around housing in Cape Town has been going on for at least 10 years. And we’d get comments from white people saying, ‘Well, if you can’t afford to live in the city, you should move to the outskirts.’ If you’ve been to Cape Town, you know exactly what that means. It’s that if you cannot afford to be one of us, you need to go to the township—you shouldn’t actually be here with us.”Hayes, who makes about 20,000 rand (£895) per month and is staying with friends and family, agreed with Jaxa. “When apartheid ended, they never really focused on bringing historically non-white areas up to the same standard as white areas,” she said.
At the same time, non-white people who can afford to live in Cape Town’s more desirable neighborhoods still encounter racism when trying to rent. A Nigerian nonprofit worker who has lived in Cape Town since 2011 said she faces long waits to hear back from landlords and agents, while her Norwegian-Hungarian husband receives much faster responses. “Being married to a white man, regardless of his background, has improved my standing,” she explained.
Much of the middle class frustration over the growing difficulty of finding affordable rentals has been aimed at Airbnb. According to the advocacy group Inside Airbnb, there are more than 26,000 listings in Cape Town, 82.6% of which are entire homes—a higher share than in many cities worldwide, including Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Los Angeles.
An Airbnb spokesperson stated: “Airbnb takes housing affordability concerns very seriously. We are deeply aware of Cape Town’s housing challenges, which stem from the city’s unique geography, the lasting effects of apartheid-era land dispossession, and exclusionary urban planning.”
They noted that short-term rentals made up less than 0.9% of formal housing in Cape Town last year, a proportion that has declined since 2020, adding: “Evidence consistently shows that the core issue, globally, is a shortage of homes being built to meet rising housing demand.”
De Waal Pressly said the city is introducing a bylaw to ensure short-term landlords pay commercial rather than residential tax rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs Airbnb Cape Towns Housing Crisis
Beginner Definition Questions
1 Whats the connection between Airbnb and Cape Towns housing crisis
Airbnb allows property owners to rent out homes or rooms to tourists for short stays Critics argue that this reduces the number of longterm rental homes available for locals driving up rents and making it harder for residentsincluding the middle classto find affordable housing
2 Why is the middle class specifically mentioned Isnt the housing crisis usually about lowincome residents
Traditionally housing crises hit lowincome groups hardest In Cape Town the issue has now escalated High demand for shortterm rentals coupled with limited housing supply is pushing rental prices so high that even professionals like teachers nurses and midlevel workers are struggling to find suitable longterm homes in desirable areas
3 What does scrutiny mean in this context
Scrutiny means that Airbnbs operations and impact are being closely examined and questioned by local government housing activists community groups and the media This could lead to new regulations or restrictions on shortterm rentals
Advanced Impact Questions
4 How exactly does Airbnb affect the longterm rental market
Property owners can often make more money from shortterm tourist rentals than from a longterm tenant This creates a financial incentive to convert longterm rental apartments or houses into fulltime Airbnbs directly removing those units from the local housing pool
5 Are there any studies or data showing this impact in Cape Town
Yes Research from organisations like Ndifuna Ukwazi and the City of Cape Towns own reports have shown a correlation between high concentrations of shortterm rentals and skyrocketing longterm rents as well as a decrease in available rental stock
6 What is the City of Cape Town doing about this
The City is developing a Draft Municipal Planning ByLaw which includes proposals to regulate shortterm rentals Ideas being considered include requiring permits limiting the number of days a property can be rented out per year or restricting shortterm rentals to primary residences
7 What are the arguments in favor of Airbnb in Cape Town
Supporters say Airbnb boosts tourism creates income for homeowners
