The number of households living in formal dwellings in South Africa dropped from 57,8% (2007) to 56% (2009), according to a survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
The dip between 2007 and 2009 was most likely caused by the recession which impacted severely on households’ liquidity during most of 2009. The decrease in full ownership between 2007 and 2009 was accompanied with growth in partial ownership and other kinds of tenure status, such as occupying the dwelling rent-free.
The survey indicates that the provinces with the highest percentage of households whose main dwelling was informal in 2009 were Gauteng (22,3%), Western Cape (17,1%), North West (16,0%) and Free State (14,8%). Of these provinces, North West has shown the least progress related to housing provision as there has been a significant increase in the percentage of shack dwellers from 12,2% in 2002 to 21,5% in 2007.
This may partially be attributed to changes in the housing policy of several mines, which entitled workers to a housing subsidy if they lived in their own dwellings. The provinces where most progress was observed in terms of reducing the proportion of households who live in informal dwellings include: Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Stats SA says that at the time of the survey 12,8% of South African households were living in “RDP” or state subsidised dwellings. Female-headed households were significantly more likely (11,5%) than their male counterparts (8,2%) to receive a government housing subsidy. Sixteen percent of those occupying “ RDP” or state subsidised housing said that the walls were weak and 14,9% regarded their roofs as weak. More than 30% of households in the Western and Eastern Cape reported problems with the quality of their walls and roofs.
The dip between 2007 and 2009 was most likely caused by the recession which impacted severely on households’ liquidity during most of 2009. The decrease in full ownership between 2007 and 2009 was accompanied with growth in partial ownership and other kinds of tenure status, such as occupying the dwelling rent-free.
The survey indicates that the provinces with the highest percentage of households whose main dwelling was informal in 2009 were Gauteng (22,3%), Western Cape (17,1%), North West (16,0%) and Free State (14,8%). Of these provinces, North West has shown the least progress related to housing provision as there has been a significant increase in the percentage of shack dwellers from 12,2% in 2002 to 21,5% in 2007.
This may partially be attributed to changes in the housing policy of several mines, which entitled workers to a housing subsidy if they lived in their own dwellings. The provinces where most progress was observed in terms of reducing the proportion of households who live in informal dwellings include: Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Stats SA says that at the time of the survey 12,8% of South African households were living in “RDP” or state subsidised dwellings. Female-headed households were significantly more likely (11,5%) than their male counterparts (8,2%) to receive a government housing subsidy. Sixteen percent of those occupying “ RDP” or state subsidised housing said that the walls were weak and 14,9% regarded their roofs as weak. More than 30% of households in the Western and Eastern Cape reported problems with the quality of their walls and roofs.
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