Belrail has a safety index of 42 out of 100 (Moderate reported crime). This is a relative measure comparing reported crime across Cape Town suburbs, not an absolute safety guarantee. The Bellville precinct recorded approximately 6,668 crimes in the most recent annual period. Absolute crime volume is above the city average.

Is Belrail affordable?

Belrail sits in the mid-range for Cape Town property values. The median is R1.4M, placing it in the 40th percentile, broadly in line with the city median. Note that these figures are based on the City of Cape Town General Valuation 2022 and reflect municipal valuations, not necessarily current market prices.

What are utility costs in Belrail?

The median monthly water cost per account in Belrail is R1,184, 80% above the city median of R658.

What is the municipal debt in Belrail?

As of May 2026, the average outstanding municipal debt per account in Belrail is R8,428, 4% below the city median of R8,815. Figures include all account types, so may overstate household debt in areas with commercial activity.

Belrail

A suburb with moderate reported crime and well-connected public transport relative to Cape Town.

Safety42/100Safer than 54% of Cape Town suburbs (relative) · ↑ Worsening Property1-1.5MTop 60%Healthcare15 facilitiesmore access than most suburbs CouncilAbove avg complaints2d median resolution TransportMinibus taxi coveragewell-connected area

Data current as of June 2026

The neighbourhood

What's it like to live here?

Belrail is a neighbourhood in Cape Flats, Cape Town, where property values are moderate by Cape Town standards. The area's safety profile is below the city average for reported safety. There are several places of worship in the area. The dominant commuter mode is private vehicle.

How is the area changing?

In Belrail, crime is rising based on the most recent quarterly comparison. Property values have grown above inflation between valuation rolls.

What should buyers know?

School and matric pass rate data is limited for Belrail. In this area, service complaints are generally resolved within a few days. The suburb is well-served by nearby healthcare facilities.

Neighbourhood summary generated from StreetSignal data and reviewed by our team.

These statistics describe the suburb as a whole. Conditions vary between streets and neighbourhoods within any suburb.

For home buyers & families

Is Belrail safe?

Moderate reported crime

Higher crimeModerateLower crime

71st percentile among 744 suburbs · based on precinct-level data shared with 45 suburbs · Data: Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026) · relative index, not an absolute safety measure

HighAbsolute crime volume

6 668 reported crimes per year · city median: 4 280

↑ 10.3% vs Q3 2024

A middle-of-the-range area where crime has been increasing over the past year. Contact crime (assault, robbery) dominates the reported crime profile. Review the breakdown below for a clearer picture.

Detailed data

Safety index (resident-adjusted) How is this calculated?: 42 / 100
Contact crime rate: 715,478 per 100k residents
Station population: 78 711
Harm rate (per resident): 26/100
Harm volume (absolute): 68/100
Data period: Q4 2025/2026 (Jan–Mar 2026)
Source: SAPS via DataFirst · CC-BY 4.0

This data reflects crimes reported to SAPS Bellville precinct, which covers Belrail and surrounding suburbs. Reported crime may differ from actual crime levels.Full methodology

Disagree with this score? Challenge the methodology ›

Source: SAPS via DataFirst · Q4 2025/2026

FOR BUYERS & INVESTORS

What do properties cost in Belrail?

40th percentile

The median property value in Belrail is R1.4M. Property values have grown by 7.8% per year since 2018.

A 7.8% annual growth rate (CAGR) over the valuation period.

Value band distribution – Belrail properties (GV2022)

0-200k

800k-1M

1-1.5M ◀

1.5-2M

5-6M

Property values are based on the City of Cape Town's 2022 General Valuation roll. GV is an assessed value for municipal rating purposes; transaction prices frequently exceed GV. Recent sales transaction data and rental market data are not available as open data in South Africa.

Median GV2022: R1,430,000
Value growth (CAGR 2018–2022): +7.8% per year↑ Growing
City-wide value percentile: 40th percentile
Dominant value band: 1-1.5M
Source: CCT GV 2022 · Open Data Policy 27781
Vintage: General Valuation 2022 (municipal valuation, not current market price)

Source: City of Cape Town GV2022

FOR RESIDENTS

What do utilities cost in Belrail?

Computed from City of Cape Town billing data

Water

R1 184 / month

80% above city median

Electricity

Insufficient billing data for this suburb.

Water trend:Dec 2025: R1 132Jan 2026: R1 184Feb 2026: R1 252

Monthly cost per account from City of Cape Town billing data. Water coverage: 647 suburbs. Electricity coverage: 384 suburbs.

INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Development activity in Belrail

→ Stable

Belrail had 6 building plans approved in the last three financial years (FY22/23 to FY24/25), averaging 2 per year. Most were renovations and extensions.

3-year approvals: 6
Annual average: 2/yr
Avg project value: R446K

Building plans approved by the City of Cape Town (2014-2025). Approvals indicate planned investment, not completed construction. This data reflects formal building activity only and does not capture informal construction, backyard dwellings, or building work undertaken without a formal plan submission. In areas with high informality, actual construction activity may be substantially higher than these figures suggest. Source: CoCT Building Development Management (DAMS).

Source: DBE EMIS · Q2 2025

FOR COMMUTERS

How connected is Belrail?

Private vehicle dominant

Belrail has 100 minibus taxi routes, including routes to the CBD. The most common way people get to work is by private vehicle (93%).

Taxi connectivity

Well connected

100 routes

97th percentile · 65 destinations · CBD-connected

Routes pass through Belrail but may not originate or terminate here. Connectivity index reflects geographic proximity to route corridors.

7th avenue mitchells plain, Atlantis(wesfleur), Belhar, Bellville, Bellville (via cape town, n1 & durban rd), Bellville (via cape town, n1, vanguard dr & voortrekker rd) +59 more

Based on CCT minibus taxi route data. Routes matched by name and spatial proximity (500m). Methodology ›

Commute mode share

Anyone relocating to Belrail needs a car. The 93% private vehicle share is a socioeconomic profile signal, not a walkability score – in working-class Cape Town suburbs the same walking rate indicates structural necessity. Here it is lifestyle choice.

Private vehicle

93%

Walking

Minibus taxi

Cape Town transport context: In South African cities, transport mode is a socioeconomic proxy – high private vehicle = affluent, high minibus taxi = working class, high walking = structural necessity not preference. StreetSignal reports modal share rather than a walkability index, which would misrepresent SA urban mobility. Methodology ›

Dominant mode: Private vehicle (93%)
Source: CCT Household Survey 2024

Source: City of Cape Town Open Data · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

What are living conditions in Belrail?

Full municipal services

Belrail has a service delivery index of 99 out of 100, above the city median of 84.5. 98% of dwellings are formal structures.

Computed from the City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey, Bellville survey group (45 households). direct.

› Monthly accommodation expenditure (R4,323) is 2.6× the city median of R1,674.› High digital connectivity: 88% of households have home internet access.

Access to basic services

99City median: 85

Piped water: 100.0%
Flush toilet: 97.4%
Weekly refuse: 100.0%
Grid electricity: 100.0%

Housing & tenure – Mixed tenure community

98City median: 68

Formal dwellings: 98.2%
Owner-occupied: 46.2%
Rented: 41.7%

Environmental risk – Moderate risk exposure

13risk index · higher = greater risk · City median: 26

Flooding risk: 2.3%
Fire risk: 0.0%
Violent crime: 6.0%
Non-violent crime: 3.2%

Economic structure – Moderate material pressure

Food spending share: 24.7%; Share of income spent on food
City median: 35.3%
Comfortable, moderate discretionary income · 87th percentile
Hardship dimensions: 0; Areas of material need (out of 8)
Grant income share: 12.0%; of households receiving grants
Monthly savings: R881; Weighted mean per household

Digital inclusion – Fibre-connected suburb

Home fibre: 88.5%; City median: 46.5%
Mobile only: 8.0%
No access: 1.5%

Food security

Adult food insecurity: 2.5%; City median: 18.3%
Child food insecurity: 2.5%; City median: 13.0%
Food insecurity prevalence: 6.9%; City median: 22.3%

Demographics & community

Avg household size: 2.9 people
Avg children per household: 0.6

Asset ownership

Computer access: 67.1%
Fridge ownership: 95.9%
Property ownership: 2.1%
Geyser ownership: 96.2%
Borehole access: 11.2%

Home-based economy

Home-based business: 12.6%; of households operate a home-based business
WFH full-time: 3.6%
WFH part-time: 14.4%

Source: City of Cape Town 2024 Household Survey. Survey group: Bellville. direct.

Energy access

10%

Free basic electricity

5.6%

City median

10% of electricity connections in Belrail receive free basic electricity under the City's indigent support programme. Free basic electricity is a constitutional entitlement providing a monthly allocation to qualifying households. The proportion reflects the reach of the City's indigent support in this suburb, not a measure of poverty.

Source: CCT prepaid electricity data (2025/11/30 to 2026/01/31). Covers prepaid connections only. Credit-metered households are not included. 873 connections.

Source: City of Cape Town household survey · 2024

FOR RESIDENTS

How responsive are municipal services in Belrail?

Responsive

The City of Cape Town resolves service requests in Belrail in a median of 2 days, compared to the city-wide median of 1 day. This is based on 886 service requests to the City of Cape Town.

Computed from City of Cape Town service request data

Below-average municipal responsiveness. A 2-day median resolution is slower than the city median – infrastructure complaints take meaningfully longer to resolve.

Median days to resolve
City median: 1

17th

Percentile
across Cape Town

29%

Resolved
same day

Sewerage overflow (17%)Street lights out (16%)Single street light out (9%)Power outage (6%)Suspect Tampering (5%)

Service requests logged: 886
Requests resolved: 79% (704 of 886)
75% resolved within: 8 days
90% resolved within: 29 days
Source: CCT service request database

Community & faith

Places of worship

3 registered

Christian

Places of worship per suburb from City of Cape Town open data, supplemented with OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors). Coverage: 373 of 744 suburbs.

Municipal complaints

Complaints & top issues

Above city average

Complaint rate How is this calculated?: 3188.2 per 1,000 households
Total complaints: 881
Unresolved: 21.0%

Top issues: Sewerage overflow (145), Street lights out (139), Single street light out (78)

Source: City of Cape Town C3 service requests

MUNICIPAL FINANCE

Municipal debt in Belrail

4% below city median

Computed from City of Cape Town financial data

Municipal debt in Belrail averages R8 428 per account, compared to the city median of R8 815.

R8 428

per account

4% below city median

Trend:Mar 2026: R7 704Apr 2026: R8 428May 2026: R8 630

Breakdown as of May 2026

Property rates: R172 928
Electricity: R200 162
Water: R432 054
Refuse: R65 900
Sewerage: R133 903
City-wide cleaning: R13 338
Improvement district: R0

Outstanding municipal arrears from City of Cape Town financial records. Coverage: 741 suburbs. Per-account figures available for 582 suburbs.

FOR FAMILIES

What services are near Belrail?

Well served

Healthcare access

15 within 5km

Nearest public: Bellville Mens Health Satellite · Community Day Centre · 0.5 km
Nearest private: Melomed Bellville · Private Hospital · 1.1 km
Public facilities: 11
Private facilities: 4

This suburb has access to both public and private healthcare within 5 km.

The nearest fire station to Belrail is Bellville, 0.3 km away. The nearest public pool is Bellville South Swimming Pool, 1.2 km away. The nearest clinic is Bellville Mens Health Satellite, 0.5 km away.

Nearest clinic: Bellville Mens Health Satellite · 0.5 km
Nearest library: Bellville · 1.1 km
Nearest park / open space: Belrail Road Park · 0.01 km