{"id":844417,"date":"2025-11-25T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=844417"},"modified":"2025-11-25T15:57:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T13:57:38","slug":"unique-south-african-suburb-under-siege","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/844417\/unique-south-african-suburb-under-siege\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique South African suburb under siege"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bo-Kaap, one of Cape Town\u2019s most historic neighbourhoods, is facing growing pressure from a rapid increase in Airbnb-style short-term rentals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents argue this trend is weakening the community, disrupting daily life, and threatening the suburb\u2019s cultural heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bo-Kaap Civic and Ratepayers Association (BKCRA) is now urging the City of Cape Town to step in and regulate short-term rentals before the area changes beyond recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bo-Kaap sits on the slopes of Signal Hill and is famous for its brightly coloured homes, cobblestone streets, and deep Cape Malay and Muslim heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the oldest surviving residential neighbourhood in Cape Town and home to the country\u2019s oldest urban Muslim community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than half of its residents identify as Muslim, and the area contains significant cultural sites, including the 1844 Nurul Islam Mosque and the most extensive collection of pre-1850 buildings in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Residents have said this unique heritage is increasingly at risk. The BKCRA warned that more and more family homes are being turned into tourist accommodation, undermining the neighbourhood\u2019s social fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent statement, the association said the rise of commercial short-term rentals is rapidly eroding community cohesion in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GroundUp reported<\/a> that 70% of residential units in the wider inner city are now listed as short-term rentals, according to the City of Cape Town\u2019s new spatial development framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Bo-Kaap is just outside the study area, residents say the same pattern is becoming visible in their streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BKCRA chair and local imam, Sheikh Dawood Terblanche, said<\/a> Bo-Kaap cannot be compared to other parts of Cape Town facing similar trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the oldest living urban Muslim community in South Africa. It is the birthplace of Islam,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within its small boundaries, the suburb hosts 19 heritage sites, making it highly sensitive to the impacts of commercialisation and heavy tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors do not respect the history and local residents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Terblanche noted that rising property prices and the shift from long-term to short-term rentals are pushing families out of homes they have occupied for generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, rising property prices and short-term rentals are displacing long-term residents, including the elderly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He believes the national government\u2019s forthcoming guidelines for short-term letting are not enough on their own\u2014Bo-Kaap needs stronger, specific protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BKCRA wants the City to enforce existing zoning bylaws so that homes cannot be used for short-term rentals unless properly approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The association is also calling for compulsory registration, limits on how many units can operate in the area, and a rule requiring owners to live on the property for most of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terblanche said this is crucial to maintaining order and respecting local customs. He added that when owners are absent, problems escalate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe owners unfortunately are not on the premises for most of these Airbnb\u2019s, and this creates the biggest problem for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Bo-Kaap\u2019s infrastructure is not built to handle the tourism volumes brought in by short-term rentals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area already struggles with congestion from tour buses, which drop off large groups daily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not only talking about 100 tourists within the area on a daily basis. We\u2019re looking at possibly more than 1,000,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these numbers, local tour guides and businesses often do not benefit from the influx. Even short stays can cause tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terblanche highlighted that many visitors are simply unaware of the area\u2019s culture and religious practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome\u2014not all\u2014do not understand the culture. They do not understand the history of the area,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This often leads to behaviour that clashes with local norms. \u201cWe see people drinking openly on the balconies, on the stoops. We are seeing loud music being played.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a disruption in the early parts of the morning.\u201d These disturbances have become common and, for many residents, really unbearable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bo-Kaap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bo-Kaap, one of Cape Town\u2019s most historic neighbourhoods, is facing growing pressure from a rapid increase in Airbnb-style short-term rentals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":844445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[24235,2279,853,24236],"class_list":["post-844417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-bo-kaap","tag-cape-town","tag-south-africa","tag-the-bo-kaap-civic-and-ratepayers-association-bkcra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844417"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":844452,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844417\/revisions\/844452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}