Closer look at old Croc Farm housing

GEORGE NEWS - Professional feasibility studies into the suitability of social housing on the old Crocodile Farm property are expected to start later this year. George Municipality Acting Director of Human Settlements Lauren Waring said the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) had granted R500 000 towards the relevant studies.

"Should the project go ahead and depending on what the studies show to be the most suitable housing type for the site, a potential 300 to 400 units could be accommodated on the site. Construction is then anticipated to begin by 2023."

In a statement on Tuesday 17 August, Waring said George is one of only seven municipalities in the country that were chosen for the first cycle of the newly launched Municipal Social Housing Support Programme (MSHSP) to receive additional support for expediting their social housing projects.

Multi-storey apartments

Implemented by the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) in conjunction with the applicable provincial department and municipality, social housing is a unit-based rental programme aimed at low and middle-income households.

Depending on the outcome of studies such as those imminent at the Crocodile Farm site, the housing consists of multi-storey apartments on one site that is strategically situated near existing businesses and neighbourhoods to promote economic and social integration.

"While the George Municipality remains involved, SHRA is managing the supply chain process and appointment of consultants for the studies.

"It should take about eight months from commencement for studies to be completed, the results of which are then given to the municipality for further action," said Waring.

Agency to manage construction, rental

She said the municipality plans to begin the municipal tender process for an accredited social housing institution that would implement and manage social housing projects for the municipality - from design and construction to rental and property maintenance.

"The Crocodile Farm is the first of several pockets of public land across the municipal area that have been identified, in conjunction with the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements, to be potentially suitable for social housing."

She said the municipality hosted an Affordable Housing Beneficiary Readiness open day in February 2019 as part of its mandate to facilitate social housing in its jurisdiction. More than 1 200 households attended, 82,4% of whom could potentially qualify for social housing.

"As many of these households may neither qualify for an 'RDP' house nor an approved home loan, households earning between R1 501 and R15 000 per month can access quality rental accommodation at reduced rates based on their household income.

"In a place such as George, where rental accommodation prices have soared in proportion to a fast-growing city, social housing options are becoming essential," said Waring.

Ownership of property

The ownership of the property will depend on the type of land release the municipality decides on, which will be a council decision much later in the process - after the proposals from the different agencies have been submitted.

The way the proposals are structured may influence this decision and will, among others, be informed by the recommendations of the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements.

The options the municipality will have to decide from when the time comes are:

Outright sale of the land to the SHI (at no more than 10% of market value);
50-year lease of the land, renewable;
20-year lease of the land and sale thereafter.

The successful SHI must be a non-profit organisation and all "profits" must be reinvested into the project or into another municipal social housing project.

The municipality will not make an income from the units other than water and electricity.

Once the SHRA invests money into the property, it can never be used for anything other than social housing. Hence, should the appointed SHI default for any reason, it cannot be sold for any other purpose and the SHRA will take the property back and reallocate to another SHI via the relevant processes.