Human Settlements

 My department currently delivers housing by using Municipalities as developers. Each municipality is therefore required to manage its own housing demand database as well as an approved Beneficiary Selection Policy which indicates how it will use its database to select beneficiaries for human settlement projects.  The database is only used for housing projects which require that beneficiaries are selected on an individual basis.  Housing demand databases are thus not used to select beneficiaries in projects run under the Upgrade of Informal Settlement Programme and the Emergency Housing Programme.

In line with generally accepted practice in situations where need far outstrips supply, the fundamental principle for selection is based on “first come, first served”.  This principle translates into “registration date ordering” in terms of which municipalities select households in the order in which they registered on municipal housing demand databases.  Registration date ordering historically founded on good local registration practices has the added benefit of favouring households headed by older people, who would have registered at relatively early dates. 

Municipalities should prioritise the individuals on their housing demand databases in order of the dates of registration in a manner so that they do not unreasonably displace households in desperate need.

          (a)   Eligibility criteria:

• South African citizen or person with a permanent residence permit;
• Gross monthly income not  to exceeds R3 500;
• Be Married, divorced or cohabiting people;
• Be over 18 years and of sound mind;
• Be single with financial dependents;
• Never owned residential property
•  first time applicant; and
• Aged and disabled persons (with or without financial dependents).

       (b) Details for the procedure are as follows:

The selection of beneficiaries are  done on a project-specific split between residents living in informal settlements and applicants identified as ‘backyard dwellers’ and those in  overcrowded conditions on the  housing database.

Once the percentage split for backyard dwellers and those in overcrowded conditions have been determined, i.e. the percentage allocations that must come from the housing database, the following sub-splits (also based on an agreed percentage) are proposed:

• Priority for those applicants living in areas that is within a  determined radius of the proposed development and who have   been on the housing database the longest;
• Applicants that fall outside the above radius who have been on the housing database for longer than those in the above category;
• Special consideration may be given to vulnerable groups and special  needs cases;
• Applicants from the housing database will be selected strictly in date  of   application order;
• The details of selected beneficiaries must also appear on the National Department of Human Settlements National Housing Demand Database;

• The approved beneficiary list recommended by the Project Steering Committee for a specific project, must be made public for a reasonable time in the affected community for comment before submitting for approval to Province; and
• Applicants currently on the database may appeal their omission from selection for a project but, only on the grounds that due process had not been followed. Such an appeal must be directed to the Municipal Manager in terms of Section 62 of the Municipal Systems Act, No 32 of 2000.

Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP):

This housing instrument is to assist qualifying households by providing a once-off down payment to those households who have secured mortgage finance to acquire a residential property for the first time.

It aims to reduce the initial mortgage loan amount to ensure the monthly repayment instalments are affordable over the loan payment term.

Depending on the income level a qualifying beneficiary will qualify for a subsidy between R87 000 - R20.000.

The subsidy is on a sliding scale e.g. the more you earn, the less subsidy you get, the less you earn the more subsidy you receive.

Criteria:

• Gross monthly income between: R3 501 - R15 000;
• South African citizen or person with a permanent residence permit;
• First time subsidy applicant;
• Never owned residential property/ first time applicant;
• Be over 18 years and of sound mind;
• Be married, divorced or cohabiting; and
• Be single with financial dependents.

Application process:

• The application must be submitted directly to my Department with an approval of a mortgage loan by a Bank, together with proof of the approval. If no mortgage loan has been applied for, the applicant will not be assisted.

• My department will assist in completing the FLISP application form and process it through our internal systems to verify that no other subsidy has been given to the applicant.

 It should be noted that the Demands and Dynamics in the Non-Metro municipalities may differ but the ultimate goal is ensure that an open and transparent process in the selection and allocation of housing opportunities is followed.