ABSTRACT
For over 20 years Indian housing in Durban has been controversial, with currently the signs of a mass revolt against the existing level of rentals in housing schemes. The seemingly strange phenomenon of families rejecting policies which should have been aimed at helping them can only be understood by examining the historical objectives of housing policy in Durban, together with the strategies adopted and the effects on the families concerned. The argument developed is that in Durban the objectives of housing policy have not been entirely, or even predominantly, to create a net welfare benefit for low-income families. It appears as if the objectives of one or both of central government and the Durban City Council have changed since the completion of Chatsworth. Indian housing objectives in the past, and strategies for the last 20 years, have not matched the ideals discussed earlier in this chapter.
