RDP houses: Rules and regulations
Many individuals apply for RDP houses or land without getting a fair response or no response at all, and some RDP land owners find new owners occupying their land without notice, which leads to problems with the municipality.
POLOKWANE – Some recipients in turn sell their RDP houses or land without the municipality or government knowing which causes even more problems for those who meet the requirements for RDPs but are yet to receive them.
You might also want to read: Government needs to be transparent over RDP housing, says human rights advocate
Spokesperson for the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA), Paena Galane, said they register RDP beneficiaries in the Human Settlement Subsidy (HSS) system where the municipality will identify beneficiaries and land for development after which the department appoints a contractor to build the RDP houses.
RDP houses allocated, Galane explained, cannot be transferred to anyone within eight years of them being handed over.
He explained renting, selling or making money from low-cost housing is illegal and residents should take note.
Rules and regulations relating to RDP housing can be found on the respective municipal websites, which is updated monthly. A mong others, the website explains in order to qualify for RDP housing, the beneficiary must meet the National Housing Subsidy Scheme criteria.
This means you must be:
• A South African citizen.
• Over the age of 21 and mentally competent to sign a contract.
• Be married or living with a partner, or single and have dependants (single military veterans or aged people without dependents also qualify).
• Earning less than R3 500 per month per household (if two people in your family earn and these earnings amount to more than R3 500 per month, you will not qualify).
• A first-time government subsidy recipient and a first time home owner.
• If you are disabled, you are supposed to be given preference and your house is supposed to be adapted to meet your needs.
To apply for a government subsidy house, take the following documents to the Department of Human Settlements (DHS), or your local municipal offices:
• Applicant and spouse’s identity documents (green book or ID card).
• Certified copies of birth certificates of children.
• Proof of income if working such as a salary slip.
• You will be asked to fill in a housing subsidy application form. Depending on your province or municipality, you will then be registered on the National Housing Needs Register or your Municipal Housing Demands Database. This is a waiting list. Once the project is finalised and the houses built, you will be given keys and a title deed to your home, but it can take many years.
• It is illegal to sell an RDP house before you’ve lived in it for eight years.
To check how far you are on the waiting list for a house, call 0800 146 873 or visit the respective municipality’s website.
