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The national Departments of Land Affairs and Housing provide grants and subsidies to buy or develop land and houses. Any one household can only get up to R16 000 in subsidies. This is not a loan and does not need to be paid back. The Department of Land Affairs offers the following grants: LAND ACQUISITION GRANTS AND SETTLEMENT GRANTS If you stay on a piece of land and you want to buy it or get permission to stay there permanently, you can apply for these grants. They can also be used to build housing and lay down water pipes, sanitation, roads and fencing. To apply for the grant, you need to: - be a South African citizen
- be older than 18
- have dependents or live with another adult
- live in a household that earns less than R1 500 per month.
If households want to apply together they can. The average income for each household must be less than R1 500 per month. Grants will be awarded to: - landless people, especially women
- farm workers and their families
- labour tenants and their families
- residents who want to get secure title to the land they are living on
- business people who want rural land for production
- people who get land through the land restitution programme
- people who lost land during Apartheid but are not covered by the Restitution of Land Act.
SETTLEMENT PLANNING GRANT This grant can be used to hire planners and other professionals to help plan a settlement. It can cover services like legal fees, land use planning and infrastructure planning. This grant is worked out as a portion of the R16 000 that each household in the settlement is entitled to. The amount that is paid to the professionals is deducted from each household's R16 000. To apply for the grant, you need to: - Choose a community representative to apply on the group's behalf.
- Contact your nearest office of the Department of Land Affairs and fill in a registration of need form.
LAND ACQUISITION GRANT FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES This grant is to help local authorities to buy communal land that can be used by the community to graze animals and grow crops communally. Members of the community can go to the local government and ask for the creation of a "commonage". They can also contact the Department of Land Affairs in the province. The local authority will have to:- Contribute to costs of the land.
- Show the Department of Land Affairs their financial records.
- Make a commitment that the land will be for the poorest residents to lease.
- Provide a list of community members who will use the land.
- Provide a plan from the community explaining how the land will be used.
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