This as the department sits with a backlog of about 166 000 title deeds to issue in the province, including houses from the apartheid era.
The decision to appoint a task team was taken at the Gauteng Provincial Title Deeds Indaba held in Soweto.
The department spokesperson, Motsamai Motlhaolwa, said the model of delivery of houses must change in Gauteng to ensure a more efficient way of creating access to housing. This called for fundamental changes in project planning, execution, and the need for technological intervention such as biometric fingerprint technology in the future of mega human settlements in Gauteng, he said.
Referring to the backlog, the department’s MEC Jacob Mamabolo said, “We need to issue these title deeds from the old stock and wrap up these legacy projects. Concluding this will make way for the mega human settlement projects in Gauteng which are going to make a major impact and dent for those who have been waiting for government housing.”
Motlhaolwa added that there were various processes that delayed the issuing of title deeds, which included processes in municipalities, the department of human settlements, surveyor-general, deeds registrar, conveyancers and so forth.
“Over and above these disjointed and unco-ordinated processes from the different stakeholders, there is also a large amount of legislation governing the issueing of title deeds,” he said.
Mamabolo said the problem was bigger than they thought and that stakeholders should come up with a strong co-ordination mechanism to overcome this mammoth task.
He added that the indaba also tackled various challenges affecting the issuing of title deeds which included disputed family properties, township establishment processes, untraceable beneficiaries, eviction and attaching of properties, and incomplete or incorrect information.
Mamabolo said, “A title deed is the only acceptable proof of ownership of property. It is therefore important to educate our people about the importance and legality of a title deed.
“We have countless cases of people signing affidavits when they buy or sell properties. Avoid shortcuts and do the right thing by getting the property transferred properly through the Registrar of Deeds.”
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