Title deeds for new RDP houses

Democratic Alliance spokesman Mmusi Maimane has called for government to issue title deeds for every RDP house that it builds.

Speaking during a campaign in Jabavu, Soweto yesterday, Maimane said the state should build houses for people to own and the houses had to be of good quality.

“We must not accept that the ruling party builds our people inferior houses…What we are arguing is that everyone must have a title deed. When you deliver an RDP house, you must also give the owner a title deed,” he said.

“The ANC’s policy says the owner of the RDP house must wait for eight years, we are saying as you deliver the house; give the person the title deed. It is their choice what they want to do with that property. It is their right in fact,” Maimane said.

At present, beneficiaries of RDP houses can only sell them after eight years and the backlog of people who are still waiting for houses has created a lot of problems for both provincial and national government.

Maimane said the housing list should be made public to allow people to see where they stand in the allocation process.

He said giving people title deeds would give back the dignity that black South Africans did not have.

“People can use the title deed to create equity and go to the bank and borrow against it and can run a business from the house,” he said.

In its policy proposal, the DA says government must make other options available besides RDP for low income groups such as credit linked housing subsidy grant to give people an opportunity to choose housing according to their needs.

It also proposes that the provincial housing list be fed into the national list to ensure that duplicate applications are not accepted and an increase of affordable rental housing.

In its 2014 election manifesto, the ANC promises to:

-provide one million housing opportunities for qualifying households in urban and rural settlements over the next five years;

-accelerate provision of basic services and infrastructure in all existing informal settlements; and

-increase the supply of affordable housing through mobilisation of housing allowances for teachers, nurses, police officers, office workers and many others in the gap market.