Plumbing Africa June 2019 | Page 47

FEATURES 45 By Benjamin Brits | All image credits SA Affordable Housing A common misconception is that affordable housing refers to the prior “RDP” houses that government issues to qualifying citizens at a value of between R50 000 and R70 000 (depending on who you speak to). However, the affordable housing market is, in fact, the entire bracket up to a value of around R800 000 per unit according to values given by the South African Affordable Residential Development Association (SAARDA). This excludes RDP, or now commonly known as breaking new ground (BNG) housing, which is considered the upgraded scheme. The affordable housing sector covers everything from social housing, private developments — for sale and rental, joint ventures between local governments and construction companies, and a common target being old inner-city buildings that are re- developed from derelict to mixed use to cater to the needs of the sector. At first glance the sector appears highly complex with various rules and procedures in play, involvement of regulatory authorities, subsidies and various income brackets that determine affordability, but underneath the complexity lies an estimated backlog of 2.1 million houses in South Africa. It is little surprise that this portion of the construction sector is by far the most active, accounting for an estimated 75% of construction projects in the country. A very attractive draw card is that at current status the sector holds an estimated total value of more than R1-trillion. Considering the potential scale of work for both suppliers and plumbers in this sector, it is something that should not be overlooked, especially since the pie is so big and at current estimates, to reduce the backlog of housing, this will continue for at least another 10 years. More importantly, it is an opportunity to sell 2.1 million products or services. DEVELOPERS AND PLUMBING Developers or construction companies unfortunately don’t have the best reputation as they are seen to bypass the laws in terms of plumbing products and the use of an unqualified workforce to drive costs down, as www.plumbingafrica.co.za well as push out sub-standard building work. There are instances where they purchase and import containers of huge amounts of stock from the lowest bidder that clearly would be sub-standard quality, don’t complete projects and run with the money, and close corporations when a development is complete so as to not have any liability or accountability for any poor or non-compliant workmanship. However, the industry in general has seen a shift towards better practices and has been engaging more regularly with such things as wet services engineers and registered plumbers, because although the industry has been ‘under the radar’ so to speak, it is now set to take a position in the spotlight where unscrupulous behaviour will not go unpunished — especially because the recipients in the affordable housing units are essentially vulnerable lower income groups, where every cent of costs has an impact, and because the building regulations call for compliance. Many plumbing companies and suppliers have already jumped on the bandwagon and are active in the sector. They will also tell you that because of the different variations of how housing is delivered, there will be a different solution for each project. The product in affordable housing varies from stand-alone units, adjoined units, multi-storey units to re- development projects — all of which require different solutions. An estimated value of between R23 000 and R55 000 per unit may be allocated to plumbing, depending on the size and scope of the development and requirements. For example, some developments include a hot water plant valued in the millions as well as rainwater harvesting and greywater treatment plants. WATER HEATING SOLUTIONS Most single and adjoined units would use solar water heating solutions where multi-storey and re-development of existing buildings would usually make use of a combination of solar, heat pumps, industrial boilers, in-line heaters, and depending on demand may also include element hot water vessels per floor or unit. Indirect heating solutions are one of the newer methods of hot water generation technology. June 2019 Volume 25 I Number 4