‘Building back better’ is a central tenet of disaster risk reduction globally. This is encapsulated in Priority Four of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which identifies post-disaster recovery as a valuable opportunity for achieving more resilient nations and communities that are better able to prevent and withstand disasters. The legislation guiding disaster risk reduction and management also highlights recovery and rehabilitation as critical spaces for developing and applying disaster risk reduction measures. Despite policy commitment to building back better, however, seizing these opportunities has proved challenging in practice. Drawing on case studies from South Africa’s Western Cape province, this chapter examines the obstacles to building back better in South Africa. It shows how institutional arrangements and legislation shaping the allocation, release and oversight of government funds for recovery and rehabilitation following disasters hamper risk reduction, not only preventing mitigative actions but critically also creating and deepening disaster risk—even where there is political will and capacity for promoting resilience. It also explores the Provincial Disaster Management Centre’s efforts to create space for building back better within the current institutional and legislative architecture, drawing out core lessons that can be applied both in South Africa and elsewhere.