Housing Subsidy Criteria and the Housing Backlog in South Africa

Transcription

1 Housing Subsidy Criteria and the Housing Backlog in South Africa JT OJO-AROMOKUDU School of Built Environment and Development Studies University of Kwa-Zulu Natal

2 Presentation outline Introduction slide 3 Housing subsidy criteria slide 4 5 Vulnerability slide 6 Property ownership status slide 7 8 Dependability status slide 9 13 Financial status slide Beckerman s model slide 17 Conclusions slide 18 19

3 Introduction Housing backlog refers to the persistent shortfall in housing and service delivery. At the onset of democracy it was defined as a supply problem Since then the backlog has grown exponentially My concern is that it could also be demand problem specifically due to the qualification criteria in use.

4 Housing subsidy qualification criteria There are eight qualifications which must be met, I have grouped into four categories as follows: The individual must be a 1.Dependable South African citizen Competent to contract, Must be 18 years of age Must be married or living together with a dependent 2.Financial status Must have a monthly household income not exceeding R3500

5 Housing selection subsidy criteria 3. Property ownership status First time property owner; Never owned a property before Not yet benefited from government funding Income 4. Vulnerable Single Military veterans Persons classified as aged Persons classified as disabled

6 The vulnerability status The subsidy qualification targets the vulnerable, these are identified as military veterans, the aged, and disabled persons. This target group duplicates or complicates the selection criteria. The criteria is open to abuse, and will need to be tied to other social welfare benefits so as to be effective.

7 Property ownership The idea is that the RDP house is a starter house, which will be consolidated, and bring about social and economic up-liftment to households. However research has shown that the process of consolidation is not straight forward, and will require better planning on the part of the state and the household to be implementable

8 Property ownership The subsidy qualification targets those who have never owned property before and have never benefited from government before. The criteria ambiguous and open to many interpretations Is a child considered to have benefited by being a beneficiary to his parents application?

9 Dependable household Married or living with a dependant The household consists of a person or group of persons: who eat together or share resources, and normally resides at least four nights a week at the specific visiting point. Statistics SA1996

10 Household and household life cycle Ideal world situation takes the household changing from familism to careerism and than consumerism. It ignores the extended family notion of more than one family living under one roof. Stats SA records that 73% of all children under the age of seven years are said to be living with grand parents

11 Household and household life cycle Thus a household may not necessarily evolve from the familism to careerism and then to consumerism, but remain at one development stage over many generations. This could be the careerism or consumerism depending on the location and prevailing opportunities.

12 Household and household life cycle In making application for housing the names of applicant and beneficiaries are to be listed. A particular beneficiary can only be attached to one application. This does not however stop the child from applying for his/her own housing once of age, other criteria having been met.

13 Implication of dependency A multiplied number of applicants emerge, with each generation. Makes the first time beneficiary selection criteria ambiguous, as beneficiaries become primary applicants, thus increasing the backlog.

14 Financial status Absolute or relative poverty? Absolute poverty refers to a state of poverty where the household is unable to meet basic needs over a period long enough to endanger life Relative poverty refers to a state relative to others. (Townsend 1979 and Davidson 2002)

15 Who are the Poorest of the poor Currently the state recognises those earning R3500 monthly income and below as poor and the poorest of the poor. Which in reality includes both the absolute and relative poor.

16 Implication of the income criteria This group ie those earning R3500 or less is on the increase in South Africa Reluctance of households to engage with the market towards home ownership Difficulty in engaging with the market keeps households from increasing their income status

17 Beckerman s model An application of the Beckerman s model shows that the state intervention of housing is neither efficient or effective, and tending to a wasteful venture due to poor targeting as a result of the selection criteria.

18 Conclusion Purpose of policy is meet the mandate of ACCESS to housing for all. The subsidy strategy places much focus on the POOREST OF THE POOR, who are defined in terms of financial standing, which is difficult to ascertain.

19 Conclusions The continuous use of the term backlog gives the impression that a quantifiable shortfall in delivery of housing is known, while this is not the case. It will require some statistical and mathematical projections to guide the moving target of the housing backlog.

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