The Bulawayo City Council’s housing waiting list has surged to 158 946 as demand for residential land grows, driven in part by an influx of people from outside the city and Matabeleland region.
The rising demand has coincided with increased cash-based transactions for housing stands, with some land earmarked for development being allocated to private developers who also sell stands for cash.
This trend has made it difficult for many locals with limited finances to access housing, while enabling those with ready money—often from outside the city—to secure stands.
According to the latest council minutes on the capture of housing waiting register forms, the updating and capturing of applications into the AS400 computer system is ongoing.
“To date a total of 158 946 forms had been captured into the AS400 computer system,” read the minutes.,” the minutes read
Council approved building plans valued at over US$4.5 million in October 2025.
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Housing and community services, Dictor Khumalo , reported that the department processed about 1 200 building plans that month, of which 451 completed the approval process.
Among those, 268 plans—including townhouses, a school hall, and lettable units—were approved, representing a 17.91% increase from September.
A total of 389 new building plans valued at US$11.77 million were submitted in October, up 15.94% from the previous month.
Plan submission fees potentially raised over US$5.2 million.
The building control section carried out 1,512 inspections—a decrease of 35.05% from September—issued 35 occupation certificates, and visited 24 dilapidated buildings, generating US$23,491 in inspection fees.
Council noted some staffing improvements with the filling of two vacant positions, but six posts remained unfilled, limiting operational capacity.
The department also continues to face mobility constraints due to non-functional council vehicles.
In parallel, the council is converting existing council-owned rental houses to homeownership.
To date, 430 houses in Iminyela, Mabuthweni, and Emganwini have been converted, along with 1,567 in Mzilikazi and Makokoba.
A total of 716 rental units across these suburbs remain to be converted.
Meanwhile, the construction of individual toilets in Iminyela and Mabuthweni continues, with 10 completed and 217 partially finished in Iminyela, and 484 completed in Mabuthweni.
Approximately 1,331 toilets are still outstanding across the two suburbs.