The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how the provision of housing can influence Local Economic Development. This was done through a study of housing provision in Dunbar, Cato Manor in eThekwini Municipality. While welfare programmes lead to perpetual dependency on government, the study concludes that housing provision linked to Local Economic Development can empower people in an informal economy. This can inform future studies on how the improvement of service delivery can translate into the improvement of the people’s lives