Premier Winde and Minister Simmers addresses affordable housing indaba

While addressing an Affordable Housing Indaba this past Friday, both the Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde and Provincial Minister of Human Settlements, Tertuis Simmers welcomed the opportunity to engage relevant stakeholders within the Affordable Housing sector, and concurred that Affordable Housing delivery is a vital component in addressing historic spatial segregation and planning.

The Indaba which occurred at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), was hosted by the City of Cape Town (CoCT) and included all three spheres of Government and various stakeholders such as the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), Social Housing Institutions (SHI’s), the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance, the Western Cape Property Development Forum, the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), the International Housing Solution and the International Housing Solution.
 
Premier Winde, said: “The Western Cape Government is committed to not only addressing apartheid spatial planning but to further creating integrated and well-located human settlements which restore the dignity of its beneficiaries and drive economic growth. This is essential because investment in social infrastructure will further help to address the painful legacy of our divided past. The City’s announcement about the establishment of the new Land Release Programme for more Affordable Housing, will undoubtedly assist in this regard.”

“By addressing apartheid spatial planning in this way, we are further promoting economic growth and job creation through construction and by creating social housing opportunities close to economic hubs where beneficiaries can access work, transport, and schooling opportunities,” added Premier Winde.

Minister Simmers stated: “Given that the Western Cape has the highest employment rate in the country of just under 70%, there is a great need for immediate access to affordable housing opportunities. In order to ensure the acceleration of this access, particularly if we’re going to make a dent in the current provincial housing waiting list that is sitting at approximately 568 000, we have to be innovative and forward-thinking in our approach.”

Minister Simmers continued: “This is why we welcome the amendments which commenced on 1 April 2022, to both the social housing and Help me buy a Home (previously known as FLISP) programmes, as it ensures greater access to affordable housing. Through Help me buy a Home for this year, we aim to assist 1 478 people, which is 578 more potential beneficiaries than last year’s target of 900.”

SOCIAL HOUSING

This is a rental only option and managed by a Social Housing Institution (SHI). The qualification criteria for household income were amended. It used to be R1500 – R15 000. It is now R1850 – R22 000 – gross monthly income.

HELP ME BUY A HOME/FLISP

This is now no longer just a mortgage only option, but other sources of finance may be utilised to acquire a property, and applicants with a household income of between R 3 501 – R 22 000 can access ‘Help me buy a Home.’

We can now help more people with…

1. Housing loans granted or guaranteed by a pension and provident fund.
2. Unsecured housing loans from any registered lender.
3. Housing loans granted or guaranteed by cooperative- or community-based savings scheme or stokvels as they’re commonly known.
4. Housing loans supported by employer-based schemes.

Minister Simmers added: “There is an opportunity to in the City of Cape Town, also introduce our Deferred Ownership Pilot Project that is currently underway in the non-Metro municipality of Cape Agulhas. This is another innovative initiative, as it not only provides FLISP units to qualifying beneficiaries, but also an opportunity for those beneficiaries who have previously fallen short of end user finance approval. It will also assist people to improve and rehabilitate their credit scores and affordability ratings.”

Premier Winde added: “Partnerships with other spheres of government, the private sector and civil society has a pivotal role to play in this space. We’re much stronger when we seize the opportunity to continuously put our heads together so that we are effective in our planning and execution, as it will assist in ensuring that our people’s lives are improved.” 

“We remain committed to accelerating human settlements delivery; to promote social inclusion by developing integrated, resilient, safe and sustainable human settlements in an open opportunity society,” concluded Minister Simmers.