PROPERTY ADVICE
Q
Are title deeds necessary and available for RDP houses ? What are the benefits thereof and what does this process ential ?
A
Title Deed serves as proof
A of your legal ownership over a property . For beneficiaries of the RDP houses to be official legal owners , a title deed is issued and is registered at the Deeds Office . The reason behind this is because a title deed is issued to a legitimate beneficiary to endorse ownership . Again , this can be quite a process , and beneficiaries of RDP housing system sometimes stay on the property for years before receiving their rightful title deeds .
This then means , upon receiving an RDP house , beneficiaries are requested to sign a Certificate of Acceptance , also known as a “ Happy Letter ”. A letter a beneficiary signs as proof that they are satisfied with the house and its condition thereof . Worth to note that beneficiaries receive their title deeds only after eight years . Reason being that government discourages selling of RDP houses as this undermines government ’ s intention of eradicating homelessness . If the house is sold within the eight years of allocation , it will thus not be easy changing the title deed to its rightful owner .
CACISA MGUDLULWA PropertyTalk _ Cacisa
Furthermore , regulatory processes for RDP houses are subject to both development controls and land use regulations in terms of the Town Planning scheme and National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act . These land use rights and development controls are administered by the local authority . This means , the Town Planning scheme or National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act will regulate the way and extent to which the RDP house may be used or developed by its rightful owner .
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine OCT 2021 5