Newcastle among eight municipalities piloting fair housing allocation system

As Newcastle experiences the establishment of multiple housing projects, including the N11 Community Residential Units (CRU) in Arbor Park and the Hospital Street Social Housing project, a pressing concern arises: How can residents be assured that these units will be allocated fairly?

The KZN Department of Human Settlements stated that the government entity is taking proactive steps to ensure that housing allocations are both transparent and equitable.

Newcastle Municipality is one of eight municipalities selected to pilot the digitised National Housing Needs Register (NHNR), which marks a significant step toward achieving fair distribution.

During his recent budget speech, MEC for Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, explained that the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) is a web-based system designed to compile a comprehensive list of all potential housing beneficiaries in every area. MEC Duma further highlighted that once municipalities fully adopt this system, the NHNR will become the only official database from which prospective beneficiaries are selected.

Moreover, the implementation of the NHNR is currently being piloted in the following eight municipalities:

• Newcastle Municipality
• Alfred Duma (Ladysmith) Municipality
• Ray Nkonyeni Municipality
• KwaDukuza Municipality
• City of uMhlathuze Municipality
• uMngeni
• eDumbe
• Msunduzi

According to MEC Duma, service providers have already been appointed and have commenced the implementation process in these municipalities. “Establishment of the NHNR in the 8 municipalities is anticipated for completion in 2024/25,” explained the MEC.

To provide further clarity, the NHNR is a central database that enables households to register their need for adequate shelter by submitting information about their current living conditions, household composition, and the type of housing assistance they require from the government. Additionally, households can update their information to ensure that their details remain relevant to their current situation.

As per a presentation by the Department of Human Settlements, the NHNR is designed to ensure that the allocation of housing opportunities, created through the various programmes outlined in the National Housing Code, is conducted in a fair, transparent, and auditable manner. This is achieved by selecting households from relevant geographical areas based on agreed criteria such as age, preference, employment, and income status

The primary purposes of the National Housing Needs Register are to:

• Consolidate various waiting lists and demand databases obtained from municipalities and provincial departments, improving the quality of the records received (validation) and determining if these records adhere to the minimum requirements.
• Ensure that households not currently on waiting lists or demand databases have the opportunity to register their need for adequate shelter by providing information about their current living conditions, household composition, and the type of housing assistance they require from the government
• Guarantee that the allocation of housing opportunities created through the various programmes in the National Housing Code is done in a fair, transparent, and auditable manner by selecting households from relevant geographical areas based on agreed criteria such as age, preference, employment, and income status.
• Ensure that information about households is utilised during the planning and budgeting of human settlements projects, with the information per household being area-based, covering the Province, Municipality, Town Area, Ward, and including physical address or house/stand number.

Keeping this in mind, the N11 CRU saw its first eight units handed over in May 2024. At that time, Newcastillian News reported that a budget of R268,464,148.06 had been approved for the project. The project is set for completion this year and will feature a total of 540 rental units.

In addition, the Hospital Street Housing Project is also nearing completion. Newcastillian News reported in July 2024 that the multi-million-rand housing project, which comes with a price tag of over R300 million, is expected to be completed in the coming months. The project has faced a series of delays, including those caused by loadshedding.

As the completion of these projects comes into view, the need for transparency in the distribution of the units becomes essential. What are your thoughts on ensuring fair allocation?

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