
What is human settlements development grant (HSD grant)?
• Human Settlements Development Grant reflects the conditional allocation transferred to all provinces for delivering housing projects as per the national housing code. • Contributions makes transfers to certain public entities reporting to the department, such as the Social Housing Regulatory Authority and the Housing Development Agency.
What is the informal settlements grant?
The aim of the grant will be to incentivise a programmatic approach to the upgrading of informal settlements at municipal level. Funding for the grant, of R14.7 billion in 2020/21 and 2021/22, will be reprioritised from the human settlements development grant and the urban settlements development grant.
How are integrated housing developments funded?
Integrated housing developments are funded mainly through the urban settlements development grant and the human settlements development grant, both in the Integrated Human Settlements Planning and Development programme.
What is the role of the Department of human settlements?
The Department of Human Settlements (DHS) derives its core mandate and responsibilities from Section 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 and Section 3 of the Housing Act of 1997, read in conjunction with approved policies and chapter 8 of the National Development Plan (NDP).

Meeting Summary
The Department of Human Settlements presented a detailed breakdown, by province, of both the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) and Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) allocations for the 2011 to 2014 period.
Meeting report
Mr Neville Chainee, DHS Acting Director-General, apologised for the absence of the Director-General (DG), who was away on a departmental study visit. He also advised Members that as the Department had received an invitation to brief the Committee only last Friday, it had not been able to prepare a comprehensive briefing.
What is the Department of Human Settlements?
Human settlements. The Department of Human Settlements (DHS) derives its core mandate and responsibilities from Section 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 and Section 3 of the Housing Act of 1997, read in conjunction with approved policies and chapter 8 of the National Development Plan (NDP).
How is integrated housing funded?
Integrated housing developments are funded mainly through the urban settlements development grant and the human settlements development grant, both in the Integrated Human Settlements Planning and Development programme.
What is housing subsidy?
A housing subsidy is a grant by government to qualifying beneficiaries for housing purposes. One of the DHS areas of responsibility in the delivery of human settlements relates to the bottom-most end of the market, where it provides housing subsidies to the poor.
What is DHS housing?
The DHS is committed to providing rental and social housing to support the affordable housing market, which requires flexibility in tenure in a dynamic and changing economic environment.
What are the four priority areas of the DHS?
To give effect to these guiding policies, the DHS will focus on four priority areas over the medium term: facilitating the development of integrated human settlements, upgrading informal settlements, providing affordable rental housing, and providing affordable housing finance.
Where are the highest percentage of households that lived in dwellings that were paid off or being occupied rent-free?
By comparison, the largest percentage of households that lived in dwellings that were either paid off or being occupied rent-free were found in Limpopo (85,9%) and Eastern Cape (84,7%) while the smallest percentages were observed in Gauteng (52,4%) and Western Cape (58,7%).
What is the NDP priority 4?
The NDP expresses the need for a systematic response to South Africa’s entrenched spatial patterns that exacerbate social inequality and economic inefficiency. Priority 4 (spatial integration, human settlements and local government) of government’s 2019‐2024 Medium Term Strategic Framework is aimed at addressing this need.
What is the Department of Human Settlements?
The Department of Human Settlements derives its core mandate and responsibilities from section 26 of the Constitution and section 3 of the Housing Act (1997). This allows the department, in collaboration with provinces and municipalities, to establish and facilitate a sustainable housing development process. The department does this by: determining national policy and national norms and standards for housing and human settlements development, setting broad national housing delivery goals, providing funding to provinces and metropolitan municipalities, and monitoring the financial and non-financial performance of provinces and municipalities against these goals. In executing these roles and responsibilities, the department also builds capacity for provinces and municipalities, and promotes consultation with all stakeholders in the housing delivery chain, including other sector departments, civil society and the private sector.
What is the purpose of the informal settlements upgrading grant?
The aim of the grant will be to incentivise a programmatic approach to the upgrading of informal settlements at municipal level. Funding for the grant, of R14.7 billion in 2020/21 and 2021/22, will be reprioritised from the human settlements development grant and the urban settlements development grant. These funds are expected to enable the upgrading of 231 000 households in informal settlements over the medium term. For 2019/20, funds are earmarked for informal settlements within the existing grant frameworks.
What is the goal of Chapter 8 of the National Development Plan?
In working towards the realisation of this vision, over the medium term, the department will focus on facilitating the provision of integrated human settlements, upgrading informal settlements, and facilitating affordable housing finance.
What is integrated residential development?
The integrated residential Development Programme replaced the project linked Subsidy Programme. The programme provides for planning and development of integrated housing projects. Projects can be planned and developed in phases and provides for holistic development orientation.
What is institutional housing?
Institutional Housing Subsidies are available to Housing Institutions that provide tenure arrangements alternative to immediate ownership (such as rental , installment sale, share block or co-operative tenure) subsidy beneficiaries . The subsidy will enable Housing Institutions to undertake approved projects and to enable them to create affordable housing stock for beneficiaries to live in subsidised residential properties. The rental unit may not be transferred to the beneficiary within the first four years of occupation. A further condition is that the legal entity must in addition to the subsidy, make its own capital investment in the property.
What is NHFC in housing?
The National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) was established by the government to search for new and better ways to mobilise finance for housing, from sources outside the State in partnership with the broadest range of organisations.
What is Nurcha's mandate?
Nurcha’s mandate is to facilitate the flow of finance from financial institutions into low-income housing development. To this end Nurcha issues guarantees for both bridging finance and end user finance loans. It also administers the Saving programme for Housing.

Integrated Human Settlements
Upgrading Informal Settlements
Affordable Rental Housing
- The DHS is committed to providing rental and social housing to support the affordable housing market, which requires flexibility in tenure in a dynamic and changing economic environment. To accelerate the delivery of well‐located, affordable rental and social housing, the department plans to provide capital subsidies to accredited social housing institutions through the Social Housing …
Affordable Housing Finance
- The provision of affordable housing is an important aspect of supporting the housing market. As household incomes have increased over time, many have found themselves in a position where they earn too much to qualify for a full housing subsidy, but too little to qualify for a mortgage loan that matches income‐related housing supply. The DHS is working to enhance affordable housin…
Housing Entities
- The department’s housing entities include the: 1. National Housing Finance Corporation(link is external), which is a development finance institution and its principal mandate is to broaden and deepen access to affordable housing finance for low‐income to middle‐income households by facilitating private‐sector lending for housing. 2. National Home Builders Registration Council(lin…
Subsidies
- A housing subsidy is a grant by government to qualifying beneficiaries for housing purposes. One of the DHS areas of responsibility in the delivery of human settlements relates to the bottom-most end of the market, where it provides housing subsidies to the poor. This is where the bulk of the housing backlog exists, affecting mainly those who earn ...