Quality is the
NHBRC’s
priority
stablished in 1999, and functioning under the ambit of the
registration and/or right to enroll homes where it has information
Department of Human Settlements, the National Home Build-
that the builder has failed to rectify reported detects by either the
ers Registration Council (NHBRC) is a statutory body tasked
consumer or the NHBRC inspector, and/or where the NHBRC con-
with regulating the home-building industry and protecting housing
siders that immediate intervention is in the best interest of the
consumers in terms of the Housing Consumer Protection Act (Act No home consumer.
95 of 1998).
Since then, anyone in the business of building homes
in South Africa must apply to register with the NHBRC, a
registration that is only granted following an in-depth
assessment of their technical, construction and financial capability.
Furthermore, it is a legal requirement that all
new homes being constructed be registered with
the NHBRC, irrespective of the value of the
planned development This ensures that new
homes have warranty cover against defined defects and that through the comprehensive
NHBRC inspection process, the construction is
structurally sound and meets the NHBRC's stringent technical standards.
In instances where builders do not meet their obligations and
where poor workmanship has been uncovered, the NHBRC has a
complaint and remedial procedure to resolve such cases. These
include that the NHBRC may suspend a home-builder's
“By law all new home builds have to be
registered with the NHBRC irrespective of the value of the planned house
development.”