This paper seeks to explore resilience among communities threatened by rapid urbanisation. While previous studies have identified housing transformation through construction of outbuildings and house extensions as a popular survival strategy among the urban poor, this paper focuses on the commoditisation and transformation of traditional homesteads into rental accommodation in the peri-urban village of Tlokweng. It is based on qualitative data collected largely through in-depth interviews with landlords and tenants residing in traditional compounds within the settlement. Interviewees’ responses indicate that housing transformations in Tlokweng have primarily been driven by the village’s proximity to the city of Gaborone, land and housing shortages in the city and diminishing opportunities for subsistence livelihoods within the village. It concludes by noting the role played by the transformation in alleviating shortages for rental housing, providing alternative sources of income and decreasing urban sprawl.