eThekwini's Montclair Lodge renovations to provide shelter for flood victims by June 2026

eThekwini Municipality officials inspected Montclair Lodge, where renovations are under way to accommodate flood-affected victims. 

eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba led an oversight of the lodge on Thursday, where he assessed progress on the facility’s refurbishment, which is expected to be completed by June 2026.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements purchased the Montclair Lodge from Transnet for R33 million in May 2025. The facility has 268 rooms with a bed capacity of 600 and is being repurposed. 

Many of the affected victims have been without permanent housing since the April 2022 floods. They come from various parts of eThekwini. The project is a joint implementation by the municipality, provincial, and national governments.

Xaba said he was satisfied with the progress made in refurbishing the first 272 units.

“The completion of this project is crucial, as it will provide the government with its own facility to accommodate disaster victims instead of relying on privately-owned facilities. Each time we have disasters, we will know where to take victims while awaiting permanent housing,” said Xaba.

The first occupants of the lodge will be flood victims who are currently in temporary emergency accommodation throughout the municipality.

Xaba said they will be housed there temporarily while awaiting the completion of permanent houses in the Cornubia Housing Project. 

Last month, Xaba visited the Cornubia Housing Project to assess progress on the construction of permanent houses for flood victims. Already, 113 houses are nearing completion. The total yield of the project is 1,200 units, which will be able to accommodate all flood victims currently in temporary emergency accommodation

There were teething problems following the floods, when the Department of Human Settlements needed an additional R128 million to continue housing flood victims currently in hotels and other private accommodations across Durban

The provincial government had spent approximately R185 million on about five or six accommodations, including hotels throughout the city, housing the displaced families since 2022.

In July 2025, approximately 189 individuals and 64 families staying at the Bayside Hotel in Durban were evicted due to non-payment. It was not immediately clear how much the provincial government owed at this one hotel and whether the families in the other accommodation facilities were also at risk.

Ndabe Sibiya, the spokesperson for the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, said the department had also conducted a verification process to ensure that the people benefiting are legitimate.

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