Often people fall for title deed scams when buying an RDP house. Scammers and criminals take advantage of those desperate for houses and post fake internet advertisements selling RDP houses.
Feast on some of the most important information on the aspects you need to know about selling and owning an RDP House.
What is RDP Housing? Short for Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP was birthed in 1994 for purposes of undoing the structural oppression of the apartheid era in low-income areas by means of eradicating informal settlements and enforcing ownership in the poorer areas. It aimed at providing access to water, electricity, housing and municipal services in previously disadvantaged communities. Subsidised housing is a programme of the RDP that intends to provide beneficiaries with an opportunity to acquire a house that is built and provided by government. These houses are referred to as RDP Houses.
According to The Department of Human Settlement, it is estimated that about three million RDP houses have been built and delivered to disadvantaged communities in South Africa.
For Who? According to Department of Human Settlements the beneficiaries must meet the following criteria, but not limited to:
• be a South African citizen.
• be contractually capable.
• earn less than R3 500.01 per month per household.
• be a first time government subsidy recipient.
• be a first time home owner.
Owning & Selling an RDP House? Upon receipt of the house RDP beneficiaries do not immediately become the full owners of such properties. A Title Deed is only issued by the Department of Human Settlement after 8 years being occupied by the benefiary. The reason behind this; government discourages selling of RDP houses as this undermines government’ s efforts of eradicating homelessness.
In terms of the Housing Act 107 of 1997, a beneficiary may not sell the house within the first eight years of having taken occupation. In many instances, those beneficiaries who resort to selling their RDP house often find themselves homeless again, as result of selling their government provided house, they tend to return to shacks and informal settlements.
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine NOV 2021 31