Small-Scale Affordable Rental

This position paper titled South African Cities Network Position Paper: Small-Scale Affordable Rental (SSAR) addresses the persistent housing crisis in South Africa despite the implementation of a substantial national housing programme. The situation is dire, with approximately 2.6 million households (around 12 million individuals) still in need of housing, particularly evident in informal settlements and backyard dwellings lacking basic services. The crisis stems from both a mismatch between housing supply and demand and insufficient scalable and sustainable solutions from both the private and public sectors. The private sector tends to focus on higher-end properties, leaving the responsibility for housing the lower and lower-middle markets to the public sector. However, the public sector's delivery rate falls short of meeting the demand, and current housing models inadvertently reinforce spatial inequalities.

In response, the paper advocates for a scalable and sustainable approach centred around municipalities to address the housing backlog. It highlights the Small-scale Affordable Rental (SSAR) model as a potential solution, encompassing township micro-developments and small-scale, informal rental accommodations. The SSAR model is seen as a means to not only provide scalable and sustainable housing but also to drive local economic development. The paper draws on insights co-created with cities and proposes a position for cities about SSAR, emphasising the need for support and action to foster the growth, improvement, and regularisation of the SSAR sub-sector, as discussed in a national symposium in May 2023. The position is informed by knowledge from the Built Environment Integration Task Team, representing the lived experiences and perspectives of city practitioners dealing with spatial transformation in South African cities.

Abstract based directly on source.