Title Deeds; Repurposing Old Buildings; Social Housing Growth Plan

Human Settlements

13 November 2024
Chairperson: Mr A Seabi (ANC)
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

The Portfolio Committee expressed frustration over the recurring absence of the Minister and Deputy Minister from its meetings, emphasising the need for accountability and better communication.

A progress report was provided on title deeds issuance and registration by the Department of Human Settlements (DHS). The priority project aims to eliminate the backlog of over two million unissued title deeds. The continuing challenges issuing title deeds are due to incomplete township establishments, lack of bulk services, and resource constraints.

The “Title Deed Friday” campaign is a community education campaign to expedite title deed distribution and promote inheritance planning. It calls on beneficiaries of government-subsidized homes to collect their title deeds at municipality offices.

Committee members raised concerns about inadequate provincial performance and delays, insufficient staffing, resource allocation, and suggested direct national interventions and reallocations to address inefficiencies.

The Housing Development Agency (HDA) presented its Inner City Regeneration Programme focusing on repurposing old buildings and addressing illegal occupation. Challenges include municipal inefficiencies, budget constraints, and predatory practices in informal housing.

The Social Housing Growth Plan was presented by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA). Its goal is to increase affordable rental units significantly. Challenges include construction delays, criminality, and poor property management. SHRA requested Committee support to ensure it is well funded to address the plethora of challenges.

Challenges identified:
• Limited funding and inter-departmental collaboration on infrastructure projects.
• Delays caused by municipal inefficiencies and political hurdles such as in Free State.
• Criminal activities illegal building occupations and construction mafias, hinder progress.

Way Forward:
• Enhanced intergovernmental collaboration to address infrastructure and funding shortfalls.
• Strategic reallocation of unspent funds to priority projects.
• Improved oversight and consequence management for underperforming provinces.
• Accelerated community education on property rights and inheritance processes.

The meeting concluded with calls for stronger accountability, resource mobilisation, and sustained efforts to improve South Africa’s human settlements landscape.

Meeting report

Committee Programme
The Committee received an apology from the Minister, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi as she was attending a cabinet meeting that day. The Deputy Minister, Ms Thandi Mahambehlala, and the DG, also apologised as they were both unwell.

Ms M Dlamini (EFF) expressed frustration and said that the constant absence of the Minister and Deputy Minister had to be addressed. It was unacceptable that the Deputy Minister is always unavailable for Portfolio Committee meetings. Still, the Minister always wants to take over the Portfolio Committee's oversight as though she is doing something. The Deputy Minister needed to explain to the Committee why she was always absent.

Ms Z Abader (MK) seconded Ms Dlamini. With the Committee's oversight, they were not allowed to speak. They had virtual meetings for three weeks and the Ministry was not available even then. It makes it difficult for the Committee to address its questions.

Mr S Dithebe (ANC) acknowledged that the meeting warrants the Ministry’s presence. However, it would be too much of an overreach to the President's power to dictate who should and should not be appointed as a Minister and it is not in the Committee's terrain to do so. When excusing oneself from a meeting, the reason for absence needs to be noted and there should not be speculation.

During the Committee's first oversight meeting, the Minister had joined them and given a perspective from her vantage point and this had helped them to form an informed and balanced opinion. He would like the Committee to resist being adversarial in its tone. In principle, the Minister understands that she needs to be in the meetings.

Mr T Gamede (MK) said that he was unhappy with Mr Dithebe defending his organisation. The Minister and Deputy Minister are both ministers of the department and are not representing their political party mandate within the Committee. They are to account to the Committee. Ms Dlamini raised an important point and ministers owe the Committee an explanation and the Deputy Minister is not deputising for the Minister but the Office.

The Chairperson acknowledged that the Ministers are to account to the Committee and that he will follow up with them concerning their absences.

The Chairperson reported that the African Union had a session in Egypt the previous week and he had learned a lot. He wished everyone had been there to experience it. He learned that South Africans play a critical role in the Human Settlements space, and some are in the private sector and NGOs. He requested a database from the Department of those individuals such as the Housing Development Agency (HDA), Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), the housing financing companies and the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS). The CSOS needs to be called to brief the Committee on what it does and how it assists the portfolio.

There were AU countries at the session in Egypt that are doing quite well, but South Africa should pat itself on the back because people are given free title deeds and housing. It was surprising for the other parties there to learn this.

The Chairperson noted that he had received a communique from CSOS responding to what Mr C Poole (DA) had raised. It was addressed to the Board and not Committee Chairperson. The content was weak; when the Committee is addressed, one ought to be serious. He was unsure if the Minister and DG had seen it. It must go according to the right channels.

The Committee expects to meet with all the MECs and the Minister on 22 November in Gauteng. He advised members to confirm their availability after the meeting so bookings could be finalised. The Minister would brief the Committee on the progress of the White Paper. It will meet with the petitioners on 21 November.

The Chairperson said that the Committee is expected to do an oversight visit to the Free State from 4 December. Unfortunately there is an in-person House session on the 4th and he must check with the House Chairperson about that programme. Secondly, there is a life and death by-election in Thabazimbi in Limpopo on 4 December. There are many parties contesting it such as the EFF, ANC, the Labour Party, and the MK party. It is critical before the 2026 local government elections. He is unsure what impact that will have and the chief whips of political parties might want to deploy their members there. This might have an impact on the oversight visit.

In response to Mr Dithebe asking if the Committee would meet in person or virtually with the petitioners, the Chairperson replied that due to the matter's sensitivity, they will meet in person. He is unsure about the Minister's attendance.

Mr Dithebe said the aftermath of the virtual meeting with the petitioners is a work in progress. They need people to execute the decisions taken and they ought to remember the heart-wrenching account of the one lady during that particular meeting. They need those people to monitor the progress if any.

The Chairperson said that a committee delegation can be sent. He did not want to spend another five years without having the issues resolved as the petition started in the Sixth Parliament. He will talk to the house chair and see if members are willing to work during the weekend. It would be the last engagement as Parliament would be going on recess.

Mr Dithebe said that he did not want members to go for one day only.

Ms Abader said that she seconds the weekend proposition as people work and if they only go there on weekdays, they will not be able to engage with everyone.

The Chairperson said that the Committee will look into the proposition as he does not want to disadvantage any member.

Issuance and transfer of title deeds
Ms Lucy Bele, DHS CFO, said that the Department had noted the concerns raised by the Committee. She introduced the DHS delegation which included: Ms Luanne Werner, Title Deeds project manager; Ms Ngaka Dumalisile, DDG: Affordable Rental and Social Housing; Mr Katlego Diseko, Chief Director; Mr Neville Chainee HDA: Head of Strategy Planning and Programme Coordination; Mr Lebowa Letsoalo Acting SHRA CEO.

Ms Werner said the issuing of title deeds refers to giving it to the beneficiary and the transfer refers to the process that occurs in terms of the Deeds Registry Act. She wants to provide a background as the Committee is fairly new and the information may not be readily available in the form of a progress report. She emphasised that title deeds distribution is not a program but rather a project.

Ms Luanne Werner, Title Deeds project manager, said that the progress report reflected to the end of Quarter 2 and the measures constantly taken to improve and support the project's performance. The title deeds distribution originated in the Third Administration to delink the beneficiary from the subsidy and that gave rise to several complications. With delinking, DHS could meet the government numerical targets set then. However, unfortunately when it came to certain sequential steps, such as pre-planning processes that precede registration of titles, they ended up with townships that were not formalised and finalised and they could not issue title deeds.

Extent of Backlogs
2019-2023 MTSF Target was 1 193 222 title deeds which were backlogs incurred during different administrations plus the new title deeds being equivalent to the preempted housing delivery for 2019–2024. The four categories are:

Pre-94: 45 535
Post-94: 500 845
Post-2014: 346 842
New: 300 000

The major challenges that contributed to the title deed registration backlog were:
Incomplete Township Establishment: 398 194 households / 50% of the last MTSF Target.
No access to bulk services: 251 305 sites / 25% of MTSF Target and outside metros.
(see document for details)

Discussion
Ms Abader asked why the project is not doing well. Ms Werner had said that the title deeds get lost, and she understood that can happen in an office situation due to a lack of staff and people being overworked. She looked at the figures, such as 2 million unissued title deeds, and aksed why the department has not employed more people. She acknowledged that it is a budget issue, but ultimately dignity needs to be afforded to people. They get a lot of calls from people asking about title deeds. She asked what is needed to assist the department in handling the backlog.

She asked why the department was not getting the budget. The Committee is available to assist and to assist on the progress of the waiver as well. She has recommendations on the waiver but she will hand them over as they are lengthy.

Ms Dlamini asked for an explanation of township establishment from a layman's perspective. What was a township previously and what is it now in the democratic dispensation. She used to work at the municipality rates and taxes, and they used a function called WinDeed and asked what the role of its function is. Does DHS have access to this or does it have its own?

According to her understanding of valuation rolls are made public. She stated that the Western Cape is not handing theirs to the public and it was unacceptable. Valuation rolls get released in two phases where home owners can first object and then it is made available to the public. She asked how long they have not been available as valuation rolls are updated every four years. She asked at what stage people warrant title deeds and when does the application process kick off. They should look into the role of National Treasury where there are budget allocations to provinces. As much as it is a national crisis, the provinces make their budget allocations but there is a disjuncture in the level of priority for allocation to this. Lastly, she wanted an update if the waiver process has started and which phase it is in. One must write a letter to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform to get a waiver and how far the process is as some things do not need meetings.

Ms T Magagula (ANC) asked who is responsible for establishing a township. Old townships are still not established and some items cannot be done that contribute to the backlog. Who is responsible for collecting title deeds from the office to be issued to the communities? She asked this as she had received a complaint a few years ago that a bulk issue of title deeds were collected but they did not reach the communities. Those particular title deeds were not collected by an official from the municipality.

When houses were devolved to the occupants, it was done through a leasehold and the occupants were told a leasehold and title deed is the same thing. She wants to check if it is the same; if not, what is the way forward? Lastly, if it was supposed to be a title deed and not a leasehold, what happens if the occupant is no longer alive?

Mr L Mphithi (DA) asked for the process to be explained for those who have not received titles in the 1990s. What advice should be given to such people? Secondly, he asked for an explanation of what happens during the Title Deeds Friday events. He noted that the presentation did not speak much about criminality. It would be helpful to speak about the type of criminality that exists at the local level involving officials and provincial representatives from the Human Settlements department. What work is being done in that area and how does it work? What is the accurate number of the backlog, according to DHS? The number will not be accurate as not everyone is accounted for, but an estimation.

DHS should have been aware that if there is no bulk infrastructure services, a title deed cannot be issued. He wanted to know why the waiver is only happening now. The problem is vast, particularly for people who have been waiting for title deeds for a long time. He asked about the Title Deeds Friday campaign seeing that many people pass away without wills.

Mr Mphithi raised the criminality aspect again and said that some Breaking New Ground (BNG) houses are being sold with and without the title deed. There is a link - being able to afford people sustainable dignity that they can pass on to their family members. A title deed is not only about the issuance but about inheritance - an asset that will mean something to the rest of the family. He asked about the title deed process for those who still have C forms but are required to pay municipal rates and taxes without possessing a title deed.

Mr Dithebe said that given the numbers Ms Werner shared, much more should be done. He is particularly concerned about Ethekwini where the budget has been reduced. There is another Act that DHS is responsible for which has to do with financing. The data needs to be tracked. If the waiver were to be granted by the Minister of Environmental Affairs, what would be the impact of such?

Mr Dithebe asked what DHS has done practically to ensure that the numbers reflecting underperformance are not repeated when the mandate is to improve the well-being of South Africans. Title deeds evoke deep emotions in people, especially when they receive them and what happens when a title deed is destroyed in a fire.

Ms B Kegakilwe (ANC) appealed to DHS to ensure that the title deed commitment is implemented so that when they meet again, there is an improvement. She asked what was the challenge about Free State and why the province was not reporting any verification. What is the DHS plan to assist Free State to ensure that it reports?

With the City of Cape Town not availing its valuation rolls, it is being treated as if it is its own country within South Africa. DHS must find ways to obtain the valuation rolls from Cape Town; if not through officials, then through the politicians.

Mr C Poole (DA) said based on the presentation, Western Cape is the only province that meets its targets. Seeing the failure of KZN, Eastern Cape and Limpopo to reach the target of 57 000 title deeds, he is deeply concerned since after the second quarter only 12 000 have been issued. The Minister must give a realistic time frame for the completion of the title deed distribution and to ensure that there is project management.

Mr Poole said it is unthinkable in project management that targets are not being met and progress is stunted. There should be consequence management for provinces that do not adhere to their quarterly and annual targets. The Committee must ensure the provinces meet and exceed their annual targets as the Committee is the custodian and has oversight of the provinces.

Mr T Gamede (MK) asked about public engagement and communication. How is the public informed about the status of the title deeds and the challenges with the project? Are there platforms for redress and alternatives for those affected? How will the beneficiary verification process be conducted to ensure the fraud risk is minimised? What mechanisms are in place to resolve disputes that may arise? What are the projected timelines to complete the transfer of the outstanding properties, considering resource constraints?

DHS response
Ms Werner answered that the project was not doing well due to insufficient capacity countrywide and adequate resources were not allocated. Where resources are allocated, they are not targeted at the actual problems that pervade the project which do not necessarily sit with the DHS mandate to resolve. DHS is responsible for bulk and township establishments; however, local government is responsible for bulk infrastructure.

In urban areas, there are about 43 000 of the total housing subsidies that connect to the bulk infrastructure services in the urban areas. DHS does not have the control, resources, and money required to resolve the bulk infrastructure issue. Performance is relative to the resources assigned to the problem but in such a case, it has been inadequate both from a financial and human resources point of view.

The other issue is the resolution of a complex challenge that lies outside of what politics allows DHS to do – that is, why more people are not being appointed. On the waivers, DHS is still consulting with the Department of Environment Affairs. DHS has what it requires from the Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs as there is a clause in the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) that makes an explicit provision for one to ask the Minister for an exemption of any clause in the Act.

Township establishment from a layman’s perspective is all land if not developed and not subject to Roman-Dutch process - such land is classified as farmland. There is a valuable resource at the bottom of the DHS website under the Resources tab called the Housing Processing Guide. It explains the planning part of the process.

Township establishment is a process of subdividing the farmland into individual beacons so the portion of land can be formally assigned to people. That process must unfold before the title is issued and it is a function of the local department. The Human Settlements grant provides the financial means to do so under the project but the regulations for township establishment fall under the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform.

WinDeed is owned by LexisNexis and they charge R30 plus VAT for a single deed search whether the parameters are correct or not. WinDeed allows for a deeds search on who owns a property and what endorsements are against the property. For this work, DHS would be required to determine the backlog of government properties on the ground without title deeds. WinDeed would not be sufficient as information changes monthly.

DHS is trying to get a full deeds record. It is in the process of getting a full deeds record with a monthly update. The Deeds Registry under the Rural Development and Land Affairs is a trading entity and it does not get operational funding from government. The Deeds Registry then sells its information to stay in operation, but it is very expensive. DHS did not request the Deed Registry due to this and wanted to do the procurement offline.

DHS has not had access to City of Cape Town since DHS started with the Metro Titling Reform about a year ago under the auspices of Vulindlela in combination with the World Bank. That is when they have not been able to get hold of the City's data but hopefully, now that the Committee members have approved the approach, it will work. This is notwithstanding the biggest problem being the City of Ekurhuleni where DHS wants to focus.

Ms Werner explained who is is responsible for the collection of the title deeds. T​the provinces appoint panels of conveyancers to lodge the deeds on their behalf. The conveyancer then goes to verify the beneficiary at home and to ensure that the person they are collecting the title deed for is the person on the Housing Subsidy System. When the title deeds are registered at the Deeds Office, the conveyancer collects them and brings them to the province for payment for its work. The province captures them and takes them into their possession and makes a call to the municipality to hand out the title deeds. The handovers are specific to the areas where there are registered title deeds. There are campaigns both provincially and nationally where the public is educated about the importance of title deeds where the Master of the High Court explains how the process works and the importance of succession planning in titling.

Leasehold and titlehold are not the same thing and it depends on the status of the land. They are the former R923 towns where deeds of grant were issued. Whether it is Sandton or Soshanguve, they are called townships. They are the former TBVC states where people would get a deed of grant equivalent to PTO or permission to occupy. What DHS has done under the pre-1994 title resolution is to get an Act 112 endorsement that says this is now a full title deed without writing conditions of establishment of an individual title.

On budget constraints, especially the low target achievement by provinces and consequence management. If they do not comply, DHS notifies and provides the capacity that the province needs. The grant conditions tend to be a hindrance to being able to provide support directly nationally.

DHS has attempted before to convert some of the unspent grants to be able to introduce implementing agents for DHS to do the work that was supposed to be done by provinces. However, that speaks to the concurrence of the non-performing province also. That is how the challenge comes in. As much as nationally DHS seeks to implement directly, they are restricted by the grant funding legislation.

On target achievement, it will be very critical as they near the end of the provincial financial year, DHS will need a focused approach redirecting the funds that will not be spent towards the ministerial priority of title deeds. It is the only way to increase the budget and ensure it is not scattered. It is the only way to increase numbers and ensure the backlog is dealt with.

The DDG replied about what the Committee could do to assist in alleviating the pressure on DHS. They need funding to help with the budget cuts and to move with speed. When it comes to budget cuts, they are conditional. Not meant for bulk infrastructure. There is little money but so much to be done. There are military veteran houses that need to be built and there are blocked projects that need to be unblocked and the removal of asbestos, especially for non-metro provinces.

Ms Ngaka Dumalisile, DDG Affordable Rental and Social Housing, said that the Minister approached Cabinet last year in September to suggest that in dealing with this challenge, they need to tap into the Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MIGs) and that other projects had been prioritised such as water and waste water treatment plants but they fell short in prioritising the Department of Human Settlements.

On title deed criminality, DHS sometimes finds cases of title deeds being sold or when a house has been issued a title deed with another's occupant name and sometimes both parties are not occupants. Those are the challenges DHS is grappling with.

Where the title deed has been in a fire and been destroyed, a duplicate can be requested at the Deeds Office.

CFO Ms Bele said that there were budget cuts that came up with the Title Deeds Restoration Grant and DHS was given support to procure capacity. Last year they increased to 25% but it is still not enough. It will be a challenge in 2025 for the national department. The Department of Water and Sanitation must assist with water and the Department of Transport must assist with roads.

Free State had appointed conveyancers from Gauteng in 2023/24. However, those conveyancers realised it was not economically viable to travel to Free State. They then wanted to use of a Free State correspondent but the correspondent was aware of the subsidy rates and the rate requested made it no longer no longer feasible for the Gauteng conveyancers.

DHS is trying to help the Free State as it was without a conveyancer. DHS with HDA went with a proposal but an implementation agent from the province was not willing to sign the protocol. This year DHS returned to the Free State with Vulindlela to get assistance in retrieving the numbers because they had assisted seven other metros.

On helping people with Form Cs to get their title deeds, DHS has a call centre which is connected to the Presidential Hotline or they can go to their municipalities. Considering that the national department does not have an implementation mandate, in the next couple of days, DHS is considering a proposal to appoint a conveyancer to deal with call centre queries. The conveyancer will be appointed for three years. The conveyancer will help to confirm the following: if the beneficiary is the owner of an RDP house, where the house is located, if the township is established, and if a deed is registered.

The Title Deed Friday initiative is to get title deeds to the beneficiaries and to do so as quickly as possible. There is a problem at Alfred Duma Local Municipality and DHS does not know what it is but it is suspected to be a political problem as they have many title deeds.

On the completion timeline, they need to allocate the resources and send them to the metros and within the next 3-4 months have an operational plan. It would be difficult to meet the high delivery rates as DHS needs to do so meticulously. The Friday initiative was successful due to a marketing campaign, such as broadcasting on community radio stations to call for beneficiaries of government-subsidized homes to collect their title deeds at municipality offices.

On the City of Cape Town valuation rolls, Ms Werner said that the Operation Vulindlela component has worked on the data with the World Bank. The delivery model in the Western Cape works differently compared to other provinces. In other provinces, the provinces are the implementers of the project. In the Western Cape, the municipalities are issued money and they are supposed to implement the project and the province reports on their behalf. The DHS team had asked for the information as they were looking for ownership information. They wanted to be able to identify the properties occupied by people over a long period that are still vesting with the entity of the state, particularly in the municipality because DHS could not get the information from the Surveyor-General (SG) roll. The team then focused on available information and those metros that were able and wanted to share their information. There was nothing that compelled them to share the information as they would have participated in the study voluntarily. When the City did not, DHS moved on without them.

When the presentation was made at Minmec, the Western Cape DHS Head was shocked that the Western Cape information was not there. DHS then relayed why the information was not there. She emphasised that DHS works according to cooperation. If DHS does not get cooperation, as in the case of the City of Cape Town, the City still gets funding from the province as the City is undertaking the project itself. What the City is compelled to do to receive money for titling is to report to the national and the provincial department and it does. DHS gets a report but they do not get a report on the municipal-owned property, which when they conclude their deeds data, they will have. Generally, it should be open for inspection, but no one can walk into a municipal office. These are measures municipalities have adopted to curb fraud and corruption that could occur.

Refurbishing / repurposing old buildings: Housing Development Agency briefing
Mr Neville Chainee, HDA Head of Strategy Planning, said urban regeneration is a process in which cities and neighbourhoods undergo redevelopment and revitalization. The aim is to improve infrastructure, housing, and overall living conditions in areas that have deteriorated as can be seen in most South African cities. This often involves converting or replacing old buildings, enhancing public spaces, and investing in amenities to attract new residents and businesses.

Examples of successful inner-city regeneration projects were Braamfontein and City of Joburg Inner-City where approximately 50k housing units were provided with private sector participation. State contribution included improvements in safety, socio-economic services and cleansing: Inner-City Partnerships in CoJ, eThekwini, City of Cape Town, City of Tshwane and Buffalo City. Affordable and social rental projects laid the basis for the regeneration and current student housing precincts in Hatfield, Braamfontein, Cape Town, and Stellenbosch.

Stakeholders include three spheres of Government, CBOs, NGOs, universities, banks and private sector. The National Department of Human Settlements has the first right of refusal to all state and public property and land that is not required for core state sector and entity mandates and programmes. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure where applicable advises the HDA of land and buildings available for human settlement development. The HDA facilitates release in conjunction with a province and/or municipality.

Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework Classification of Municipalities
A - Metropolitan municipalities (8) are municipalities with large, densely populated areas, with strong, complex, and diverse economies.
B1 - Secondary Cities (19) are cities with relatively high populations in municipalities with large budgets.
B2 - Large Towns (26) are municipalities with a large town as its core.
B3 - Small Towns (99) have relatively small populations and significant proportions of urban population but with no large town at their core.
B4 - Mostly Rural (61) are mainly rural with communal tenure and with, at most, one or two small towns in their area.

Densities of formal households
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, and Durban inner cities have very high densities of formal households because the majority of buildings are multi-story flats, hostels, and student accommodations. In smaller metros like East London, Gqeberha and Bloemfontein, the densities of formal households are generally higher in townships and areas where large-scale human settlement projects were established.

Age Profile
In Johannesburg and Durban's inner city and surrounds, the dominant age groups are 30–34-year-olds, who are primarily young migrants, who come to the city for work opportunities. In Cape Town, the dominant age groups are 35–39-year-olds and 30–34-year-olds. These are younger professionals, who live in the city to be closer to work opportunities. In Bloemfontein, the dominant age groups are 10–14-year-olds. This could be an indication of parents with more than one child.

Residential Typology
Because inner cities are densely populated, the primary housing typologies are flats, hostels, and student accommodation. With the tertiary institutions in Johannesburg and Cape Town inner-cities, student residences are the primary accommodation in some areas. Hostels in Johannesburg and Durban inner-cities are an indication of cheaper accommodation, whereas the eastern parts of Bloemfontein have areas where backyard dwellings are the primary residential typology. Parts of Cape Town and Bloemfontein are dominated by children's homes and/or homes for the aged.

Household Income
The average monthly household income in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, and Durban inner-cities is dominated by households earning between R4 666.68 and R22 500.00. This means that there is a significant market for social and student housing, as well as other subsidised housing options. The areas immediately adjacent to Bloemfontein inner-city and the east of both Johannesburg and Durban inner-city, are dominated by households earning R22 500.00 per month upwards. These are households entering the bonded market. Households in the Cape Town inner-city have a higher monthly income than Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, and Durban. This is an indication of wealthier households, in a flourishing property market.

Taxi Dependency
People in the Johannesburg inner-city and surrounds are more dependent on taxis than the other cities, followed by Durban and Bloemfontein. People in the Cape Town inner-city are the least dependent on taxis for their daily commute, i.e., they either make use of other means of public transport, have their private vehicles, or are walking distance from their places of work or study.

Daily migration
The inner cities remain areas of high employment and in all four cities, it is evident that there is an influx of people into the city. Although lower-income households in the Hillbrow, Berea, and Yeoville areas, just outside Johannesburg central are close to work opportunities, they tend to work outside the inner city. The older, wealthier people who tend to live in lower-density, free-hold houses and most likely have their vehicles in the Devil's Peak area outside the Cape Town inner-city, tend to travel to work in other parts of the city.

Programme and Project Planning
1. Analysis required of all initiatives being undertaken in Metropolitan and Intermediate Cities for distressed state and municipal buildings.

2. Programme strategy with intended outcomes based on project plans, with targets and outputs based on a five-year project pipeline to be gazetted which crowds in resources and funding in prioritised precincts.

3. Alignment of municipal, provincial, and national state organ priorities – Telkom sale of properties published on 04 August – Multi-sectoral agreement on priorities – Development of low to middle income housing in inner cities must take precedence.

Proposed Funding Structure
1. In all instances human settlements grants have provided the foundation for initiatives– Seed funding for Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF) was the Human Settlements. Development Grant (HSDG) and resulted in approximately 30k units being funded since establishment.

2. NHFC provided seed funding for TUHF which has funded small-scale rental initiatives in all Metropolitan Municipalities and Intermediate Cities.

3. Multilateral funding agencies also funded initiatives and including NorAid, the European Union, French Development Banks.

4. In recent years PIC, DBSA, NEF, Pension Funds, and Banks have entered and exited the market – Successful partnerships were cultivated with the private sector – Growth Fund and NURCHA

4. Review of the current delivery institutional mechanisms and funding structures – multi-stakeholder partnerships– earmarking of precincts based on municipal initiatives with national, provincial, and state organ contributions

Conclusion and Way Forward
1. Review and analysis of current metropolitan and intermediate initiatives to determine precinct priorities
2. Analysis of current projects in the inner cities and sources of funding – Determine current delivery mechanisms and agents
3. Market analysis is required to determine existing demand – income – typology affordability – precinct and site identification.
4. Programme and project funding review – Current funders, structures, programme, and project feasibility analysis and benchmarking.
5. Project pipeline assembly and due diligence to determine legal, technical, and financial compliance options
6. Multi-stakeholder consultation and agreement – Organised Sector Representatives, Unions, SALGA, NGOs and CBOs

Social Housing Programme Growth Plan
Mr Lebowa Letsoalo, CEO: Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) said the plan would double the production rate for Social Housing in 2024/25 - 2029/30 to triple it within the current political term with an additional 45 000 units to increase to about 95 000 affordable rental housing units (excluding the Community Residential Units, Sectional Title proposal, and the Student Housing proposal envisaged in this framework).

Scale of demand
The scale of demand for affordable rental housing (social housing) in South Africa is estimated to be approximately 320,000 units. This figure is based on research carried out by SHRA in 2016/17 and published in the State of the Sector Report of that year.

Although the rate of growth of the South African economy has slowed down to around 1% in real terms since 2016/17, new jobs creation has also slowed, and some retrenchments have even resulted, it would still be fair to say that the demand for affordable rental housing far outstrips the supply thereof. This demand has even become more pronounced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Capacity to administer and account
SHRA has the capacity to administer and account for its annual budget over previous financial years It has spent an average of 97% of its allocation.

Challenges identified:
• Limited funding and inter-departmental collaboration on infrastructure projects.
• Delays caused by municipal inefficiencies and political hurdles such as in Free State.
• Criminal activities illegal building occupations and construction mafias, hinder progress.

Way Forward:
• Enhanced intergovernmental collaboration to address infrastructure and funding shortfalls.
• Strategic reallocation of unspent funds to priority projects.
• Improved oversight and consequence management for underperforming provinces.
• Accelerated community education on property rights and inheritance processes.

Discussion
Ms Abader asked how the people will get to use the property in Sea Point for social housing as opposition to this is provincial government-led. She asked for the timelines for the HDA refurbishment project. She asked how SHRA assists against crime in run-down areas. People refuse to drive there yet social housing is placed there. Lastly, she asked about alternative accommodation for people who occupy abandoned buildings when those need to be refurbished.

Ms Dlamini asked about the process of acquiring abandoned buildings in cases where the owner has relocated overseas. She asked if there are court cases for inner city evictions and if there is any resistance. She asked for an update on the Joburg building that burnt in 2023. How does it measure when a building is suitable for occupation? When there is occupation without approval, what is the next step? Are current measures being blocked?

Ms Kegakilwe asked what can be done to reduce the turnaround time of the building plans that were not approved for over 24 months. She asked why DHS allows people to be there for longer than 48 hours if alternative accommodation has been provided and what can be done to avoid future invasions.

Mr Dithebe was concerned about the unduly long period to make interventions to ensure that the City of Ethekwini belongs to all its people. He raised the matter when they met with the community. He was worried about the attitude and perspective of the City of Cape Town as noted in the meeting’s first presentation.

When looking at the concept of gentrification, he noted that one might overlook it as making the inner city look aesthetic. However, what about the human costs and where do the people go when the city resorts to procuring land by displacing the people who cannot afford to live there? He noted the court case between an NGO and the City of Cape Town about an unused Sea Point school.

He once encountered a 37-year-old white man who said that he was planning to leave Cape Town for Joburg due to the high living costs in Cape Town. He was angry because he had voted for the leading political party in the Western Cape but could no longer afford to live in Cape Town. The man said he needed to earn R45 000 to live reasonably in Cape Town.

Mr Dithebe said that cities are being measured by their compliance and the City of Ethekwini needs to remove the bureaucracy and red tape because it disadvantages people. Section 2 of the Constitution must be considered where the value of social justice is always upheld.

Ms Magagula said that when a property is privately owned, residents tend to adhere to the policies. What plans would be implemented to keep those buildings attractive? They need stricter occupation policies. Most of our buildings are occupied by foreign nationals. She stated emphatically that she is not xenophobic, but the buildings become lawless. She concluded that one cannot occupy a rented building if one is not employed.

Mr Mphithi wanted to know how many of the identified buildings are illegally occupied.

Mr Gamede asked about the HDA and which precinct initiatives have proven most successful thus far. He asked if the inner city projects align. What were some of the challenges faced by the developers such as the eviction process and how they can be mitigated?

HDA response
Mr Chainee referred to the research by Ivan Turok and said that it is interesting to know what is happening in the inner city. There is a shortage of accommodation so there are landlords (mastandi) who have one flat occupied by five families. This is the predatory result of where people prey on the poor and the destitute. There is a problem where there is no enforcement of by-laws and revenue collection in the municipal sphere. This allows criminality as criminals want to operate in an area of lack of enforcement. A couple of years ago, there was a mayor who announced he would get rid of the illegal occupants in Johannesburg and the buildings were put out to bid to redevelop and developers appointed. However, none of those 78 buildings put out to bid has been redeveloped. It is because the developers had to deal with a cumbersome legal process for illegal occupation and had to provide alternative accommodation and had to deal with foreign nationals. None have come to fruition because of the intricacy of the process.

The dilemma for DHS and HDA and province is the responsibility rests with the municipality. What has changed is that we are now going in and taking responsibility at fixing this problem. It is a very delicate issue around this.

He referred to the Sea Point property. He will not be able to give timelines due to the processes it needs to go through such as objections, town planning, and a lack of clarity as to what the building will be used for.

The building that burnt in Joburg has been secured and the people have been relocated to temporary accommodation. As the site has become a crime scene, they will need to wait for the inquiry to end.

On language correctness, he distinguished between invading and illegal occupying a building. An invasion is a crisis happening between Russia and Ukraine while we are experiencing an illegal occupation as we are not at war with our people. It is about human intervention.

It is easy to criticise what is happening in the City of Cape Town but the city has taken action while other cities have not done so. The Minister has taken steps to call out developers on their failures. There are policies in place and financing mechanisms and plans in place, but where it needs to be implemented, they are not being implemented, such as none or one in the inner city of Ethekwini in the last 15 years. One has to ask the question why it has not happened such as in Manguang and Buffalo City

The Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land (PIE) Act protects the rights of the landowner and occupant. It has not been found wanting in several court cases where it has been contested as it protects the rights of both the occupant and landlord.

On the successes and failures, there have been successes. The failures have been outside the ambit of the household due to times of economic downturn and the effect on earnings and income. By and large, all the projects have succeeded with 95% payment rates. It explodes the myth that people do not want to pay. The myth must be challenged that people want to have everything for free.

SHRA response
Mr Lebowa Letsoalo said that SHRA needs assistance from the Committee. SHRA is right at the coalface in dealing with tenants; it is faced with criminality where cases where there is not good collection and there is a bad manager (admittedly a SHRA accredited manager) and it is also faced with construction mafias on the development side. They need assistance from this Committee to appeal to COGTA about municipal rates and utility charges. SALGA needs to make it applicable across all municipalities that social housing is treated as a different asset class. SHRA has not sat back but has created a programme called the Municipal Support Initiative. Municipal officials are taught about social housing and their roles and responsibilities per the Social Housing Act, how to divert land and buildings for this and the application process.

He said the project aligns with the urban framework as the municipality must approve and support the project according to the Social Housing Act before the SHRA moves ahead otherwise it would be irregular.

Mr Letsoalo acknowledged that most failures come from poor property management. Once you fail at that, you will not be to collect rent. The SHRA has the licence to act on behalf of an institution's affairs. The Act allows the SHRA to use section 12 in court cases dealing with maladministration where the SHRA would take over the administration and affairs of an institution.

On public safety he pointed to the example of Braamfontein, where people can now walk and use their phone on the street and park their cars there because the businesses there organised together to ensure security. However, SHRA has to deal with a plethora of issues which makes it difficult. It had to organise security for Sondela Village to ensure public stock is not lost. That is why institutional arrangements to ensure everything functions is so important.

Mr Letsoalo said that there were four illegally occupied SHRA-funded buildings two quarters back and now there is one. SHRA had to take public funds to ensure private security for these such as in Brandwag in Mangaung, Sondela Village and one around the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg. SHRA will find a solution for this but it affects and delays their delivery of social housing for people.

Mr Letsoalo said that he is not the spokesperson for City of Cape Town but it has presented a plan for a pipeline of 10 units in good areas such as Woodstock, Salt River, Voortrekker Road and Mowbray Golf Course. SHRA cannot afford to fund that currently. That is why he appealed to the Committee to keep SHRA well funded.

Mr Letsoalo noted that they are using Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to resolve the challenges in Etekwini.

The Committee adopted their minutes and the meeting was adjourned.

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: