Housing Consumer Protection Bill: Final Mandates & adoption

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed all those present at the meeting. The Committee’s agenda was to consider the HCP Bill.

He asked if any apologies were received.

Mr Moses Manele (Committee Secretary) indicated that no apologies were recorded.

The Chairperson outlined that the Bill would be tabled and deliberated on a clause-by-clause basis. Thereafter, the Committee would look at the final mandates from provinces and then consider its report on the Bill.

He was pleased that all nine provinces expressed support for the Bill.

Mr C Smit (DA, Limpopo) asked what the purpose of the Committee going through the Bill on a clause-by-clause basis was if the mandate asked the provinces if they either supported or rejected the Bill. Also, he asked if the Bill would be sent back to the provinces if the Committee rejected a particular clause.

The Chairperson indicated that, according to parliamentary procedures, the Committee was bound to send the Bill back to the provinces if a clause was rejected. He added that parliamentary procedures also require the Committee to present the Bill to the provinces after adopting it.

After that, he asked the department to take members through the bill.

Ms Mathope Mothusi (Acting Deputy Director-General of Corporate Services at the DHS) introduced the DHS delegation at the meeting; after that, she informed Members that Mr Paul Masemola and Ms Judgemore Tshikomba would lead the presentation.

Clause-by-clause deliberations on the HCP Bill

Mr Paul Masemola (Acting Chief Director: Legal Services at the DHS) and Ms Judgemore Tshikomba (Senior Legal Advisor for the DHS) took Members through the Bill.

The Chairperson asked the department to only take the Committee through each clause where amendments were made, not the entire Bill. He asked the Committee Secretariat to confirm whether his proposal was correct.

Mr Manele indicated that the Chairperson was correct, as the C-List of the Bill contained proposed amendments that formed the D-Version. He recommended that the department take Members only through each clause where amendments were proposed.

The Chairperson noted Mr Manele’s input and asked the department to proceed with the suggested procedure.

Chapter 1: Interpretation

Mr Masemola indicated that Chapter 1 of the Bill related to the interpretation of the Bill. No proposed amendments were made to it, he added.

Chapter 2: National Home Building Regulatory Council

Mr Masemola mentioned that Chapter 2 related to the objectives of the Bill, the National Home Building Regulatory Council, the composition of its board, their qualifications, and the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

Chapter 3: Registration of Homebuilders and Developers

Mr Masemola said the department proposed a minor grammatical change to line fifty-three and the inclusion of ‘and developers’ in the chapter heading.

Chapter 4: Enrollment

Mr Masemola outlined that this Chapter dealt with the enrolments of homes and the consequences of not doing so.

Chapter Five: Financial Matters

Mr Masemola explained that this dealt with, among others, the appropriation of money from Parliament, which the current Act does not cater for. Clause 39 (5) provides that the Council may escalate the fees prescribed in terms of subsection 1, in accordance with this section. However, if the Council escalates those fees in excess of the most recent publication by Statistics South Africa of the Consumer Price Index, it must obtain approval from the Minister prior to the publication of the notice contemplated in the subsection. This clause was included to ensure no arbitrary fee increase was charged to homebuilders and developers.

Part 2, he continued, referred to home warranties for structural defects, which began when the house was being built and would take 5 years after the home was occupied.

Chapter 6: Compulsory Information and Contractual Matters

Mr Masemola highlighted that this section attempts to protect homebuilders against contractor non-payment. It also seeks to ensure that homeowners are provided with habitable homes and explains how contractual disputes should be adjudicated.

Chapter 7: Enforcement and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Mr Masemola mentioned that this section outlines the penalties to be imposed in instances of non-enforcement, and the establishment of the compliance enforcement committee, which may impose fines on transgressors.

He said a proposal was made to have Clause 64 as Clause 65.

Chapter 8: Miscellaneous

Mr Masemola stated that this Chapter dealt with miscellaneous matters, including vicarious liability and the law of agency. He explained that the Council may hold a principal of a homebuilder or developer personally liable and prevent him or her from registering as a homebuilder or enrolling a home in terms of Section 25 or 30, as the case may be.

This Chapter also makes the Minister responsible for issuing regulations and establishing a code of conduct for the Council.

Final Mandates on the Bill

The Chairperson noted that Members had no input on the Bill. Even though all of the provinces had already expressed support for the Bill, he asked for this to be done formally in the meeting, starting with the Eastern Cape.

Ms N Ndongeni (ANC, Eastern Cape) indicated that the Eastern Cape supported the Bill.

The Chairperson noted that representatives from the Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were not present at the meeting. As such, he moved to support the Bill on their behalf, in line with their tabled mandate.

Ms S Shaikh (ANC, Limpopo) expressed support for the Bill on behalf of Limpopo.

Ms N Dlamini (EFF, Mpumalanga) expressed support for the Bill on behalf of Mpumalanga.

Ms B Bartlett (ANC, Northern Cape) expressed support for the Bill on behalf of the Northern Cape.

The Chairperson expressed support for the Bill on behalf of the North West.

Mr R Badenhorst (DA, Western Cape) expressed support for the Bill on behalf of the Western Cape.

The Bill was duly adopted by the Committee.

Committee Report on the HCP Bill

The Chairperson indicated that the Committee would consider its report on the Bill. He asked the Committee Secretary to focus on the report’s recommendations and conclusions.

Mr Manele took the Committee through the report.

Following the presentation, the Chairperson opened the floor for discussion.

Ms Shaikh noted a grammatical error in paragraph 6.2 and asked to correct it. Thereafter, she moved for the report's adoption.

Ms Bartlett seconded the mover.

The report was duly adopted by the Committee, with no objections made.

Read: ATC240326: Report of the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements) on the Housing Consumer Protection Bill (B10D-2021), (Sec 76): dated 26 March 2024

The Chairperson outlined that since the Committee had concluded its process; the Bill would be referred to the House for adoption either this week or the next.

He thanked the department, parliamentary support staff, and Members for their contribution to the processing of the Bill and report.

The meeting was adjourned.