SA Affordable Housing March / April 2018 // Issue: 69 | Page 34

PROJECTS
Motlasana Gardens comprise 1 168 units.
Matlosana Gardens – –
affordable housing that rocks
In Matlosana City (formerly Klerksdorp) in North West Province, you
will find an example of social housing that seems to have everything:
excellent location, appealing design and easy access.
By Tracy Maher
A
lmost anything can be made to look good on paper,
but the proof of the pudding (or project) is in the
tasting or, in this case, the site visit conducted by
Tahane Mahlaole, deal maker at International Housing
Solutions (Pty) Ltd (IHS).
Before driving two hours to Matlosana – deep in the Dr
Kenneth Kaunda municipality district – we met with IHS
technical specialist Willem Odendaal and Mahlaole for a
little background regarding the project, as well as the
amendments to regulations governing social housing in
South Africa.
According to Odendaal, the recent landmark shift in the
social housing policy increased the income cut-off of
potential housing applicants from R7 500 to R15 000. This
more adequately addresses the need for rental
accommodation in the growing gap market between those
who qualify for fully subsidised housing and those who
don’t earn enough to be homeowners.
The Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA)
increased the subsidy to R265 000 per unit and enables
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MARCH - APRIL 2018
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING
Other Delivery Agents (ODAs), which are private sector
investors that partner with government, to deliver units.
These changes assist in accelerating the delivery of social
housing units by encouraging private sector participation.
For example, a unit price