Government is working with provinces and metros to reclaim buildings that have been hijacked in the city centres and repurpose them for public use.

President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement when he was delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday evening.

To tackle inequality, he said there was a need to undo apartheid spatial planning, which has "scarred our cities and forced many people to live far from areas of work and opportunity".

While acknowledging the millions of housing opportunities which have been delivered and have provided safety and dignity to the poor households since 1994, the President said the practice of building housing developments on the periphery of urban centres, has perpetuated inequality and urban sprawl.

Going forward, government is to build more housing in the city centres and closer to work and business opportunities.

The President said government was currently redesigning the housing subsidies and directing more funding towards programmes that enable people to buy or rent a home in an area of their choice.

Government will also release more underutilised state properties for affordable housing development.

"We are working with provinces and metros to reclaim buildings that have been hijacked in the city centres and repurpose them for public use. We will provide 300 000 serviced stands to qualifying beneficiaries to enable housing development in well-planned, connected communities along key development corridor.

"We will clear the backlog of title deeds for subsidised housing, turning homes into household assets. We will review land use, building and other regulations to enable low-cost property development, including backyard housing," the President said.

This, he said, represents a fundamental rethink of how the state delivers housing at scale while turning cities into engines of growth and opportunity.