The City of Cape Town is seeking additional social housing partners to expedite the provision of affordable housing opportunities on well-located land across the city .
NEWS
City looking for social housing partners
The City of Cape Town is seeking additional social housing partners to expedite the provision of affordable housing opportunities on well-located land across the city .
“ The development and availability of affordable rental accommodation , in central areas of the city must play a key role in the future development of Cape Town . In addition , to provide affordable housing opportunities closer to where people work or close to public transport ; this is nonnegotiable . This way we will create a more integrated and inclusive city where residents have equal access to opportunities . This approach will also assist us in addressing the legacy of apartheid spatial planning and improving densification and mixed land-use ,” says the City ’ s Mayoral committee member for Transport and Urban Development , councillor Brett Herron .
The City currently has partnership agreements with five social housing companies to develop and manage affordable rental housing stock for lower- and middleincome residents .
“ Given the acute demand for affordable housing , the City needs more social housing partners to help us upscale and expedite the number of opportunities delivered in the short- to medium-term . We are approaching a very exciting period where we will fast-track the delivery of affordable housing opportunities at several key inner-city sites . These sites will be announced in a call for development proposals soon . This will provide us and our new social housing partners with the ideal opportunity to work together immediately ,” says Herron .
The City is therefore seeking to enter into partnership agreements with more companies that are accredited with the Social Housing Regulatory Authority ( SHRA ) as stipulated by the Social Housing Act .
“ We want to sign full partnership agreements with companies that are already experienced in developing and managing their own rental stock , but we are also looking for conditional partners who will be given capacity support to develop and manage their first projects . Once they have proven their ability to deliver , their agreements may be transitioned into full partnerships with the City ,” he says .
Companies accredited with the SHRA and were interested in entering into partnerships with the City were invited to attend a compulsory briefing on 30 June 2017 in Cape Town ’ s central business district . Interested companies registered on the City ’ s social housing database .
“ We need well-located affordable housing in our inner cities and around transport corridors . Importantly , we want
A social housing project in South Africa .
partners who are just as committed as we are to addressing this need . They must be obsessive about delivery and quality and be willing to serve the beneficiaries of these projects with passion ,” he says .
Agreements with social housing companies are based on the public-private-partnership model for service delivery . These agreements stipulate the aims , goals , objectives , performance targets and specific areas of cooperation between the City and the institutions . The City provides rates subsidies and the social housing companies access capital subsidies from other spheres of government to ensure that more affordable rental accommodation options are provided .
“ I am confident that we will soon have more partners from the private sector that will assist us in providing decent and affordable housing to those who need it most ,” he says .
The City ’ s partnership agreements with the social housing companies Madulammoho , Social Housing Company and Cape Town Community Housing Company will be renewed in due course , and the agreement with Communicare will be extended once the contract expires in October 2017 .
All these companies have been accredited by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority as required by National Government .
ABRI BLOG
8
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2017
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING