MBOMBELA- The Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements strongly condemns the illegal selling of RDP houses by beneficiaries.
This comes after there have been claims of illegal selling of the government’s low cost houses by beneficiaries for personal gains.
“The department would like to put it on record that being the legitimate owner of the house does not permit the beneficiary to sell the house at any stage as prescribed by the Housing Amendment Act,”states department’s spokesperson Freddy Ngobe.
“The department puts it on record that once an RDP has been transferred to a legitimate beneficiary, a Title Deed will be issued accordingly. By virtue of the legitimate beneficiary being the registered owner, he is therefore entitled to stipulate in a ‘Will’ stating who will inherit the property when death occurs.
If beneficiaries pass on without leaving any Will, the Department ordinarily has on records names of dependants; of all whom will be entitled to stay in the dwelling until such time they are able to acquire properties in their own financial means,” he said.
The Housing Amendment Act provides for a prohibition on the sale of an RDP house outside a period of 8 years. According to the Act, if a beneficiary intends selling the house within the 8 year period, such should be offered back to the Department and that no purchase price will be payable to such a beneficiary. However, the beneficiary will be eligible for obtaining another state subsidized house should he qualify. Low cost houses (RDPs) are therefore not meant for profit by the beneficiaries. Any person found to be renting out a property especially within the 8 year period, will then create the impression that the property is not acquired for the desired purpose, therefore it should be offered back to the Department which alongside the Municipality will find a qualifying beneficiary as a replacement.
The Department urges all beneficiaries to refrain from selling their houses illegally and advises them to report such illegal transactions. Communities are also advised that there are caveats or clause on the Deeds Registry Records that are meant to prevent the transfer of property without the written consent of the Department. So if the eight year period has lapsed, the Department upon a request usually from attorneys will grant the consent, in a form of Waiver of Pre-emptive right. The risk associated with the purchase of an RDP online or otherwise is that the seller (usually the original beneficiary) remains the registered owner regardless of how many people he sells the property to.
