Behuisingskemas vir gekleurdes in Pretoria 1900-1924

During the Republican period Coloured people in Pretoria had to provide their own housing. This situation was perpetuated under British rule owing to factors such as insufficient funds, lax municipal administration, and the temporary nature of the governmental system. Housing conditions for Coloured people were indeed very poor until 1910 despite some effort by the City Council and other organisations to bring about improvement. From 1912 the construction of barracks, hostels, model homes, and municipal houses was undertaken and received special attention. The efforts of the local government were not successful, however, and once again the Coloured people had to provide their own housing. With the outbreak of World War I the housing shortage increased since a growing number of Blacks moved from rural areas to Pretoria. Overcrowding and subletting were rife, and the high mortality among Coloured people during the 1918 influenza epidemic was a result of the poor housing facilities in Pretoria. After the War the Coloured people once again approached the City Council for assistance to build houses; meanwhile the housing standards in Marabastad were once more criticised. A new scheme was introduced. whereby houses were to be erected with loans negotiated by the City Council but the necessary capital for such a scheme was not available. This "model scheme" was consequently carried out on a reduced scale by the Council and in the course of 1922 only some 260 two- and three-bedroomed houses were built. Insufficient influx control at this stage gave rise to an even bigger housing shortage and the Council's efforts to accommodate Coloured people in hostels and compounds only partially alleviated the situation. After two decades – during which several housing schemes were tried – the City Council of Pretoria still could not boast of having successfully solved the chronic housing shortage for Coloureds in the area under its jurisdiction.