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'Adjust Social Housing Bill'

12 Sep 2007

The Social Housing Bill, which is currently before Parliament, was sharply criticised on Tuesday by the National Association of Social Housing Organisations (NASHO) as being too strong on regulation but not sufficiently strong on the creation of a conducive and enabling environment.

"The bill should be adjusted to balance the regulatory aspect with the support aspect," Rory Gallocher, chairman of the Gauteng region of NASHO told MPs during a public hearing into the bill by the portfolio committee on housing.

He also recommended that the title of the bill should take account of support for social housing.

The bill aims to define the respective functions of national provincial and local governments in the provision of social housing to those of low to medium incomes. It also sets up an authority to regulate all social housing institutions obtaining public funds.

NASHO wanted the definition of low to medium income households to be enhanced to state that that the target market is those consumers that are unable to access housing through the market. The organisation also wanted the definition of social housing itself to be broadened to include housing receiving an institutional subsidy, even though they are outside a restructuring zone.

In an attempt to lighten the burden of regulation, Gallocher asked that "regular" inspections by the regulator should not be more often than once a year. "It is paralysing if it is too regular," he said.

He also asked for a clause regulating leases to be removed from the bill since leases are already provided for in law. - Michael Hamlyn, I-Net Bridge

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'Adjust Social Housing Bill'

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