SA Affordable Housing September / October 2017 // Issue: 66 | Page 8

NEWS
Housing programme now
benefits low income earners
The Social Housing Programme has been adjusted to
accommodate low income earners.
H
uman Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu together
with the Provincial Members of the Executive
Council (MinMec) of Human Settlements have
approved adjustments to the Social Housing Programme.
This comes after the launch of one of the country’s
biggest social housing projects, the Westgate Social
Housing Project in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, by
President Jacob Zuma, in April.
The MinMec-approved adjustments include the shift in
income bands which raises the lower qualifying household
income limit for the primary market from R3 500 to R5 500
a month and the upper qualifying household income limit
from R7 500 to R15 000 a month.
The MinMec also approved an increase in the
Restructuring Capital Grant from R125 615 a unit to
R155 000 a unit and consolidation of the Community
Residential Unit/Hostel with social housing.
Minister Sisulu said the adjustments ensure that the
social housing programme continues to focus on including
the primary target market in well-located projects, so that
the poor are integrated into cities.
“These adjustments also ensure that more young
professionals or the ‘gap market’ will now benefit from
government rental subsidised housing and for developers
it means they have more funds to provide spacious and
decent rental stock,” said Minister Sisulu.
Social housing programme to accommodate low income earners.
The minister added that due to inflation over the years, the
social housing programme was no longer able to grow and
that, “With these adjustments, production of units will
grow resulting in increased performance by the sector.”
The adjustments will also help bring in the required
revenue from families in the gap market, while continuing
to accommodate families on the lower end of the
income ladder.
“We will continue to work hard to ensure that we reach
out to all our housing beneficiaries, particularly low
income earners, and the gap market by providing housing
opportunities close to transport, places of work and
economic activities,” Minister Sisulu said.
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6
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2017
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING