Question NW2750 to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
14 December 2020 - NW2750
Mohlala, Ms MR to ask the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
What (a) total number of social housing projects and/or schemes have been built in each municipality in Gauteng (i) in the past five financial years and (ii) since 1 April 2020, (b)(i) number of the housing projects were (aa) completed and (bb) occupied and (ii) on what date was each housing project completed and occupied, (c) procedure and/or mechanism was used to source the deserving beneficiaries and (d) are the key common challenges that are usually experienced in the process of identifying and selecting beneficiaries?
Reply:
(a) The social housing rental projects and/or schemes that have been constructed in municipalities in Gauteng are indicated below:
- City of Tshwane – Three (3) namely Akasia, Little Manhattan and Castle Crest.
- City of Ekhurhuleni – Two (2) namely Delville and Germiston Fire Station, Kempton Village, Carnival Gardens and Sondela
- City Of Johannesburg – Six (6) namely Dobsonville, Plein Street, Turffontein, Devland Extension Two and City Deep,
(i) A total of 14 959 units were completed in twenty (20) projects across the country for the period April 2015 to March 2020.
(ii) Since 1 April 2020, no units were delivered, based on the delays which occurred as a result of the declaration of the National State of Disaster and various associated lockdowns. Further, the period for a development to complete all planning and funding approvals is approximately eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) months. Post this period a project is implemented, and actual delivery and handover of a unit to a beneficiary takes approximately another twelve (12) months.
(b)(i) The number of the Social Rental Housing projects that were;
(aa) Completed is none as a result of the impact of the declaration of the National State of Disaster.
(bb) Since 01st April 2020 no occupation of units were possible due to the impact of the National State of Disaster. Post the declaration of alert level one, project implementation will continue and once units are completed, they will be tenanted.
(ii) The Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) have been requested to collate all the information required, and it will be sent to the Honourable Member, as soon as it is received
(c) The current policy requires that 30% of units in a project is allocated to primary beneficiaries which are households with an income of below R5 500. The Social Housing Institution (SHI) is required in terms of the Consolidate Capital Grant to submit tenant audits to the SHRA for verification, which is to ensure that occupation or tenanting of units complies with policy. A SHI is required to advertise the availability of accommodation using various media and communication platforms to allow for qualifying tenants and/or households, to then make application to be provided with an opportunity to rent. All applications are vetted according to the social housing qualification criteria in line with the Social Housing Act and the terms and conditions of the grant award contract.
(d) The unit size allocation versus the household income always creates challenges. The tenants would sign a lease agreement clearly stipulating that the social housing programme is for rental in perpetuity. However, the tenants would demand ownership which is not in keeping the social housing programme.