The impact of the Financial Sector Charter (FSC) in improving the creation of housing stock in the low income market

Abstract

Housing is one of the cornerstones of rebuilding our social structures and creating wealth in the economy of South Africa. The lack of access to finance in the low-income market has been viewed as a stumbling block in the delivery of affordable housing. Several policies have been introduced in the past to meet the promise that the government made in the White Paper on Housing Policy and Strategy in 1994, where they promised to successfully eradicate the housing challenge by increasing the delivery of houses; none of the results inspire confidence. The purpose of this exploratory research was to analyse the impact of the Financial Sector Charter in the creation of housing stock for the low-income market. The researcher interviewed seven passionate, experienced experts in low-income housing, using in-depth face-to-face interviews. These interviewees were secured using a snowball sampling technique. The key findings from the study revealed that there has been an improvement in the access to finance within the low-income market. Banks have moved a step further from the traditional approach by coming up with innovative products. Although this is encouraging, there are a number of inhibiting factors that negatively impact the delivery of housing; these include the flawed legislative procedures in rezoning of land, the process for township establishment and inefficiencies that exist within government housing structures. New policies can continue to be introduced, but if these inhibiting factors are not addressed the results will remain disappointing.