Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says the department is forging ahead to implement several interventions to redress the unaffordability of houses for the missing middle.

Announcing government plans and developments in the human settlements sector at a media briefing held in Pretoria on Monday, Kubayi said the department has recognised that the gap market or missing middle continues to face challenges in accessing adequate affordable housing.

‘These are the households earning between R3 501 and R22 000 per month, who neither qualify for mortgage finance nor fully subsidised houses,’ Kubayi said.

WATCH | Minister Kubayi briefs media

Kubayi said the interventions include First Home Finance, social housing and the Rapid Land Release Programme to encourage people to build for themselves.

Government will also develop a policy to encourage employers to provide housing to their employees and housing access for government employees through the Government Employees Housing Scheme. Government will also
strengthen partnerships with stakeholders to collaboratively deliver housing solutions.

Progress

The Minister highlighted that since April 2023, First Home Finance (FHF) has been providing grants for non-mortgage products, and the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) has seen a significant increase in applications from individuals who want government assistance to buy their first properties through FHF.

‘Since April 2024, the NHFC has approved about 1 151 of the non-mortgage subsidies at a value close to R160 million. The majority of these are from KwaZulu-Natal (283), Gauteng (160) and Limpopo (263),’ Kubayi said.

Kubayi added that the NHFC action plan has identified potential partners who can partner with the corporation as subsidy origination and distribution channels to support the non-mortgage housing programme. This has also been warmly welcomed by traditional authorities, mainly in the Free State, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal.

She said the department will soon launch its first rural First Hom
e Finance housing project at Inanda, north of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Partnerships

‘Over the next five years, the NHFC will also intensify its working relationships with traditional leaders to increase the delivery of affordable housing in rural areas. Another category of partners in the action plan is of building merchants and employers keen on assisting their employees to access adequate housing.

‘The recently unveiled strategic partnership between the NHFC with Cashbuild and Capitec for the Zakhelikhaya initiative is a great step towards strengthening partnerships with this category. Cashbuild formulated this programme so that its staff and clients could build their own homes using the First Home Finance grant and a purpose loan from Capitec,’ Kubayi highlighted.

By partnering with NHFC, the minister said the programme has been widened to include the broader Cashbuild clientele that qualifies for the subsidy.

She explained that the NHFC and Cashbuild will collaborate in assisting Zakhelikhaya customers
to apply for and access First Home Finance subsidies.

‘Capitec has partnered with Cashbuild to provide purpose loans to the Zakhelikhaya Project, meaning that the grant will get to its intended beneficiaries a lot quicker than has been the case with just the mortgage products.

‘The partnership will also facilitate payment of subsidies to assist Zakhelikhaya clients to buy material and be assisted to build their homes.’

Transfer of old government property

The Minister and Members of the Executive Council (MINMEC) responsible for Human Settlements took a decision earlier this year, to have the old government housing stock to be given back to municipalities or to the people who have been staying there for a long time, by 31 March 2025.

Kubayi said people who have been occupying these houses for more than 20 years will be given the preference to take ownership.

She said all provinces have commenced their work to ensure that they meet the deadline of 31 March 2025.

‘All provinces have met municipalities to
agree on the transfer of properties to beneficiaries and devolution of vacant land to municipalities. Provinces will continue to engage individual beneficiaries to conclude transfer processes, and we will be monitoring the progress,’ Kubayi said.

Once completed, the transfer will economically empower beneficiaries who mostly fall within the gap market.

Source: South African Government News Agency