Newcastle’s housing projects: How to apply for a home

Two major housing projects are currently underway in Newcastle, underscoring the importance of providing affordable and sustainable housing for the community. The projects in question are the Hospital Street Social Housing Project and the N11 Community Residential Units (CRU).

As previously reported, the Hospital Street Housing Project comes with a price tag of just over R387 million and will include 1,056 social housing units.

The second housing project is the N11 CRU, situated in Arbor Park, near the N11 road. This project has a budget of R268,464,148.06 and is expected to see all 540 units completed within approximately five months.

To read more on the projects, click here.

As these two housing projects are expected to improve the quality of life for many Newcastle residents, on 22 May 2024, Newcastillian News reported how the Department of Human Settlements handed over eight units to families who qualified for them.

To read more, click here.  

As the completion of the housing projects nears, with units at the N11 CRU already being handed out, the question now arises: how do people go about registering to stand a chance of securing a unit at either of the two projects?

Responding to Newcastillian News on the subject, the Newcastle Municipality highlighted that the qualification criteria for the N11 CRUs are as follows:

• A person must be a lawful South African resident.
• A person must be legally competent to contract (18 years and above).
• A person must have proof of income (R800 to R3,500).
• A person must be registered on the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) at the Newcastle Local Municipality located at 37 Murchison Street, 4th floor, Department of Human Settlements.
• A person needs to fill in a form for screening with the Implementing Agent (Moteko Cost Construction and Project Managers) at 15 Van Schalkwyk Street, Newcastle Central.
• A person needs to bring a certified copy of their identity document, a three-month bank statement, their payslip, and proof of residence.

“The submission of the above documents merely gives consent to Moteko and Associates to conduct a credit check and confirmation of income and does not mean approval for the lease agreement. Once the screening process has been completed, the potential tenants will be called by Moteko and Associates to come in and sign a lease agreement,” explained the Newcastle Municipal Communications Unit.

When considering the qualification criteria for the Hospital Street Social Housing Project, the Municipality’s Communications Unit pointed out that while the application process for this project has not yet commenced, the criteria are almost the same as for the N11 CRUs.

The steps are as follows:

• A person must be a lawful South African resident.
• A person must be legally competent to contract (18 years and above).
• A person must have proof of income (R1,500 to R22,000).
• A person must be registered on the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) at the Newcastle Local Municipality located at 37 Murchison Street, 4th floor, Department of Human Settlements.
• A person needs to fill in a form for screening with the Implementing Agent (Moteko Cost Construction and Project Managers) at 15 Van Schalkwyk Street, Newcastle Central.
• A person needs to bring a certified copy of their identity document, a three-month bank statement, their payslip, and proof of residence.

“The submission of the above documents merely gives consent to Moteko and Associates to conduct a credit check and confirmation of income and does not mean approval for the lease agreement. Once the screening process has been completed, the potential tenants will be called by Moteko and Associates to come in and sign a lease agreement,” said the Communications Unit.

With the process being simplified by the Municipality’s Communications Unit, residents in need of affordable and sustainable housing are urged to adhere to the criteria as stipulated.

What are your thoughts on the above and the process required to apply for a housing unit? Share your views in the comments section below.