• Have your say on the short-term letting by-law!

    Use this your letter builder to build your personal comment in response to the City of Cape Town's draft Short-Term Letting (STL) by-law. DEADLINE: 5 October!

  • Welcome to this letter builder, developed by the Rent Control Group and the Umbrella Civic for Ward 92+, to help you create your personal comment to the City of Cape Town (CoCT)'s draft by-law on Short-Term Letting (STL). 

    If you need more details about the draft by-law, about the Umbrella Civic or about Rent Control, tick the applicable box(es) below to show more information. Otherwise, skip the question, look at the "How-to" infographic guide, and scroll to the first section to get started. 

    Click here to view Rent Control Group's full comment, that this letter builder is grounded in. 

    Don't delay! Comments close on 5 October! 

  • View more about:

  • Details about the draft by-law

    The draft By-Law introduces a registration system for short-term letting to improve compliance with the City's Rates Policy. It reclassifies a home let short-term for more than 50% of its annual room-nights from residential to commercial rates. It treats this as a rates question, not a housing one. See the draft by-law here, the City's FAQ here, and our critique here.

  • Details about the Cape Town Rent Control Group

    The Rent Control Group is a voluntary community of artists, engineers, students, tenants and landlords who care about community, housing and justice. To find out more, read their Substack, check them out on Instagram or join their WhatsApp group.

  • Details about the Umbrella Civic for Ward 92+

    The Umbrella Civic 92+ (formerly 57+) is a progressive umbrella organisation constituted by a number of local civic and community organisations as well as individuals from the areas currently defined as being part of or directly adjacent to Ward 92 (Observatory, Salt River, Woodstock, Walmer Estate and University Estate and parts of District Six and Paarden Eiland), with the vision of creating a more informed and active community through civic engagement. To find out more, check their Instagram. 

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  • Section 1: Your name and email

    We need these to be able to send you your draft letter.

  • Section 2

    Your personal introduction and summary statement.
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  • Choose your preferred summary statement about the by-law (or click "Other" to write your own).*

  • Section 3: Selecting your arguments

    Identify which of the six proposed arguments resonate with you. You can also propose your own arguments. Once you know which one(s) you want to include, scroll to the chosen arguments and select your phrasing.
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  • Tick which arguments you want to include in your letters. (Argument 1 and Argument 2 are already included.)*
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  • ARGUMENT 1. Select your preferred phrase about the housing crisis - or write your own.*
  • If you wish, you can add for clarity a paragraph to explain that you are not against tourism. Or skip to your next argument.
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  • ARGUMENT 2. Select your preferred phrase about the 50% threshold - or write your own.*
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  • ARGUMENT 3. Select your preferred phrase about the commercial rates - or write your own. You can also choose to skip this argument.
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  • ARGUMENT 4. Select your preferred phrase about the hospitality jobs - or write your own. You can also choose to skip this argument.
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  • ARGUMENT 5. Select your preferred phrase about the erosion of communities - or write your own. You can also choose to skip this argument.
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  • ARGUMENT 6. Select your preferred phrase about the impact of short-term letting on neighbours and public services - or write your own. You can also choose to skip this argument.
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  • Section 4 - Recommendations

    Be specify on how you think the City should revise their by-law. You can go with the short version, or give a list of specific recommendations. If you choose the latter, select the recommendations that resonate with you.
  • How do you want to formulate your recommendations?*
  • For the long version, select the recommendations that resonate with you (and engage below).*

  • Detailed recommendations

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  • Section 5 - Conclusion

    You're nearly done! Just select your concluding statement.
  • Select your preferred phrasing for the conclusion, or type your own.*

  • Section 6 - Before you submit: the POPIA stuff

    Let us know what you want to happen with your data.
  • Would you like to stay informed of the work of the Umbrella Civic 92+?
  • Format: (000) 000-0000.
  • Would you like to stay informed of the work of the Rent Control Group?

  • Click on this link to decide how to get involved in the Rent Control Group.

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