NEWS
NHBRC wields enforcement
stick against ‘rogue’ builders
In its efforts to tackle misconduct in the industry, the National
Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) has taken seedy
builders to legal task.
T
RECORDED PROVINCIAL
BUILDER SUSPENSIONS
he housing regulator has opened more
than 100 criminal cases against home
builders who have contravened the
Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act
95 of 1998 (HCPMA).
Offences include carrying on the business of
building homes without having registered and
non-enrolment of homes, which is in
contravention of the HCPMA. The legislation
requires everyone in the business of building
homes to register with the NHBRC and that all
new homes must be enrolled, or registered,
with the NHBRC 15 days prior to construction.
NHBRC’s chief executive officer, Mziwonke
Dlabantu, says that the NHBRC continues to
forge relations with various stakeholders such
as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA),
South African Police Services (SAPS) and
housing consumers to ensure understanding
of the Act and successful prosecution of
these matters.
“Our mandate as the housing watchdog
requires us to take a stand against non-
compliance with the Act in order to protect
housing consumers and to this extent, the
NHBRC will continue to engage with relevant
stakeholders to ensure compliance and
enforcement of the Act,” says Dlabantu.
In addition, the NHBRC suspended 211 and
prosecuted 506 home builders/contractors
and/or developers who transgressed the
Mziwonke Dlabantu, chief executive officer of
the NHBRC.
building regulations. These include offences
that relate to failure to rectify major structural
defects; failure to rectify workmanship related
defects; failure to enrol a home; and contravening
the code of conduct for home builders.
The NHBRC has the powers to suspend a
registered home builder’s registration with the
council or refuse to enrol such home builder’s
homes for the period that it deems necessary to
investigate the matter or until the registered
home builder has complied with the relevant
provisions of the Act.
The Act also empowers the NHBRC’s
disciplinary committee, after following due
process, to impose the with drawal of
registration of a home builder; a fine not
exceeding R25 000 or a warning in instances
where a home builder has been found guilty.
• Gauteng – 70
• Western Cape – 66
• KwaZulu-Natal – 29
• Limpopo – 16
• Mpumalanga – 16
• North West – 5
• Eastern Cape – 3
• Free State – 3
• Northern Cape – 3
RECORDED
PROSECUTION CASES
• KwaZulu-Natal – 141
• Gauteng – 106
• Western Cape – 84
• Limpopo – 44
• Mpumalanga – 39
• North West – 35
• Eastern Cape – 28
• Free State – 26
• Northern Cape – 3
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SEPTEMBER 2018
5