The Bulawayo City Council housing waiting list has ballooned to over 160 000 as of December 2025, up from over 158 000 recorded in November last year.
Latest council minutes indicate a high demand for housing in the rapidly expanding city, due to an influx of people from various parts of the country.
The latest council minutes on the capturing of housing waiting register forms state that updating and capturing the forms into the AS400 computer system is an ongoing process.
“To date, a total of 161 058 (as of December 2025) forms have been captured into the AS400 computer system,” the minutes read.
Indications are that those with cash are turning to the city to buy housing stands, while some land meant for housing development is contracted to private developers who also demand cash from prospective home-seekers.
This has been condemned for excluding most locals who face cash challenges and paving the way for outsiders with money to acquire the stands.
In November last year, the council indicated that as of September 2025, an accumulated total of 158 011 forms had been captured.
The council also reported on the Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai double allocation of stands regularisation with a total of 24 cases unresolved.
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Bulawayo has 12 housing administration offices located in Nketa, Mpopoma, Mzilikazi, Lobengula, Entumbane, Tshabalala, Magwegwe, Pumula, Nkulumane, Luveve, Cowdray Park, and Eastern.
“Amongst various administrative matters, the offices facilitated cessions,” the minutes read.
“These were for deceased estates, court orders, and re-sales of houses.
“The cessions were for properties on long-term leases (25, 40 and 99-year leases) and those on agreements of sale.”
“A total of 65 cessions were processed in November 2025, while 57 cessions were processed in December 2025.”
