The Council for the City of Johanneburg has approved the submissions of the Serviced Stands Draft Policy, which seeks to address the housing backlog by providing home-seekers serviced stands to build houses for themselves.
These service stands will be provided as an option for non-qualifiers within the National Housing Code: Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP), Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP), individual subsidies as well as Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme (UISP).
Though the provision of the access to adequate housing has been largely implemented for qualifiers, a response to cater for those that have fallen in the gap due to various circumstances was identified.
The City of Johannesburg is aligning itself with announcement by Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu that the government will soon launch a programme to provide serviced land and allow for people to build their own homes through the rapid release programme.
It is envisaged that the site and service model will go a long way in eliminating the City’s housing backlog. Service stands are stands that have permanent installed infrastructure such as water, electricity, sanitation, and roads. These sites will be ready for a top structure which is the responsibility of the owner to build their own home.
The rapid land release programme has been adopted by all three spheres of government as an easy alternative in the provision of housing opportunities.
Here are the objectives for the Serviced Stands Policy:
1. Provide for a systematic way of administering serviced stands projects as part of incremental housing in the City for people that can build for themselves.
2. Provide a systematic process to build capabilities for the project roll out.
3. Contribute to the provision of additional housing supply and dealing with housing backlog in the City.
4. Facilitate access to land for housing development & for socio and economic activities to realise and integrated developmental approach in the City.
5. Promote land release for access to housing and spatial transformation.
END.
Issued by the city of Johannesburg
For more information contact:
Neo Goba
Deputy Director: Communication & Stakeholder
Office of the MMC
neog@joburg.org.za
