Human Settlements
1.Whether there are any plans in place to deal with defects and maintenance complaints by beneficiaries of houses after allocation or occupation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
2. whether the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) inspected any houses in Mossel Bay before rectification started; if not, why not; if so, (a) what are the relevant details and (b) how much was spent?
1.With the implementation of the National Home Builders Registration Council’s (NHBRC) warranty scheme, all houses delivered after 01 April 2002 and financed by the Housing Subsidy Scheme are to be enrolled and inspected by the technical inspectors of the NHBRC to ensure minimum standards are applied.
This in no way affects the inspections that are normally conducted by both the technical staff of my department and the municipalities. The inspections are conducted during the construction until occupation. The final inspection will be conducted by my technical staff for the release of the retention monies of the developer.
After occupation, the beneficiary may report complaints regarding the quality, latent defects to the contractor who will rectify and or replace for a period of up to 3 months after occupation.
The NHBRC warranty scheme also provides for a five-year warranty for structural defects and a twelve-month warranty on the roof. Should any defects to the structure or roof occur within the said period, the contractor or developer would be held liable.
Other than the warranty provided by the NHBRC, the beneficiary takes responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of his/her dwelling.
2.Since the involvement of the NHBRC, all houses are inspected and signed off by them. However, my department has undertaken to reconstruct five (5) units in the Wolwedans project that were damaged by the landslide since the NHBRC has indicated that the damage to the units was solely the result of the landslide and not of a structural nature.
