Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2014 | Page 37

REI Commercial
Legislation strangling property growth
Legislative delays, ill-considered legislation or regulations with unintended consequences, such as the Spatial Planning
and Land Use Management Act of 2013 (SPLUMA) and the outdated Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (SALA), together
with an increasing complex regulatory environment, are creating property development bottlenecks and strangling the
growth of the commercial property sector, according to SAPOA.
SPLUMA replaces the Development Facilitation Act of 1995 (DFA). However, property development applications,
appeals and other matters brought before municipalities and provincial appeals tribunals have been affected. In
particular, Section 60 of SPLUMA allows the Minister discretion to permit applications and appeals under the old DFA
to continue under to new act, which, if used, will remove some of the financial, economic and social effects currently
being experienced by the commercial property development sector. If these discretionary powers are not used, many
new property development applications may have to be launched again, affecting new property development valued
at billions of rands nationwide.
SALA makes it very difficult for agricultural land to be rezoned for commercial development. Furthermore, the
government has published the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Policy. While this policy has
similarities to SALA, the land reform process is also set to impact on the policy.

Valuable Input

Martin Russell-Croucher
Director
RICS
Embodied ca rbon is an
increasingly signif icant part
of the overall carbon burden
in properties and should be
considered as pa r t of t he
design and construction phases
of a building. By focusing
on the ca rbon-signif icant
items, surveyors will be able
to provide the best, balanced
solutions considering carbon
and cost.

www.reimag.co.za

Marna van der Walt
CEO, Excellerate Property
Services
In South A frica, propert y
yields are increasingly coming
under pressure, with lower
rental rate increases and more
vacancies, so landlords are
looking to service providers to
reduce pricing. As a result, in
today’s challenging economic
trading conditions and highly
competitive environment, cost
efficiencies are critical in terms
of reducing operating costs for
property owners.

Brian Wilkinson
CEO
GBCSA
Green building is now firmly
on the agenda in the African
p r o p e r t y i n d u s t r y. T h e
green building movement is
demonstrating with confidence
and credibility the ability to
take on, often at minima l
cost, the big issues of our
time: energ y consumption,
CO2 emissions, pollution and
depletion of natural resources;
and waste disposal.

July 2014 SA Real Estate Investor

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