SA Affordable Housing July / August 2017 // Issue: 65 | Page 20

COVER STORY
Windmill Park Ext 12. Image: SAARDA
RIP affordable developers
Could this be the death of the affordable developer? Former
SAARDA chairman Harry Gey van Pittius lifts the lid on this issue.
By Harry Gey van Pittius
S
outh African Affordable Residential Developers
Association (SAARDA), the mouthpiece for role
players in the affordable housing market, advocate
high standards and updated specifications in the
affordable housing market.
In the past local authorities obtained loans to install bulk
services (such as reservoirs, sewerage works, main bus
routes and so on) which the residents repaid as a portion of
their rates over a period of 20 years. Although councils
have taken out numerous loans and receive yearly
subsidies from government for the installation of bulk
services, bulk services installation was never a priority and
the funds were used for other means.
The new Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act
of 2013 (SPLUMA Act) stipulates that bulk services
contribution must be calculated on the date of
proclamation of a township and payable on submission of
Section 82. This causes a major problem for affordable
developers regarding payment of full bulk service
contributions for a major project of 1 000 residential
stands or more. It means in future that major projects will
have to be subdivided into smaller townships of about
200 residential stands to make it affordable for
developers to proceed.
18
JULY - AUGUST 2017
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING
Eleen Gilbert, SAARDA secretary and Harry Gey van Pittius,
MD Kiron and previous SAARDA chairman. Image: SAARDA