SOUTH AFRICAN PROPERTY OWNERS
ASSOCIATION (SAPOA)
THE VOICE OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
The Housing Portfolio Committee
28th February 2008
ATT: Ms Koliswa Pasiya
Dear madam
RE: SAPOA comments
on the Housing Development Agency Bill
1. SAPOA was established in 1966 by South African’s property
investment organizations, to bring together all role players in the commercial
property field and to create a powerful platform for property investors. As
SAPOA’s members control approximately 90% of all commercial and industrial
property in South Africa, SAPOA is recognized as the representative body and
official voice of the commercial and industrial property in this country. SAPOA
is held in high esteem by the relevant sectors of government and is accordingly
consulted on all matters pertaining to the property industry.
2. The objective of the Housing Development Agency Bill
(herein after referred to as the HDA) is to enable the state to identify,
acquire, manage and dispose of land for affordable housing. It is likely that
the primary targeted land will be high value land for integrated developments
at medium to high density, with a mix of market-priced and affordable units.
3. The supply-led approach assumes that the HDA itself will
be well capacitated and able to bring to bear sophisticated skills currently
lacking at local and provincial level in identifying appropriate land for
purchase, negotiating with developers, fast tracking approval processes etc.
The extent to which the HDA will in fact have such capacity is unclear, given
the general context of skills shortages as evidenced by severe capacity
constraints at Local Government level.
4. The Department of Land Affairs’ draft Land Use Management
Bill, the precise content of which is still uncertain, may, when enacted,
fundamentally change the legal and policy context for low-income housing
development. In the absence of this Bill, the existing legal framework is quite
confused. The Development Facilitation Act tends to be poorly implemented, and
the old-order local government land use planning ordinances are still being
relied upon in varying degrees.
The National Department of Housing will be seen as competing
with private sector
developers. This may lead to a slow-down in private sector
housing development as smaller developers withdraw from the market. There is a
risk that the private sector will refuse to engage with the HDA, thus making it
impossible for the HDA to dispose of the land it acquires. Any land not
expeditiously disposed of would both reduce the overall amount of land
available for housing development, and also impose considerable land management
costs on the HDA.
5. Hope and trust you find the above in order.
Yours faithfully
Tsakane Shilubane
Legal Services
Manager
Cc Neil Gopal SAPOA (CEO)