Is the RDP application process the same in Gauteng as the rest of the country?

The long answer

Thank you for your email asking if there if it makes a difference when applying for an RDP house in Gauteng if you are living in an informal settlement or if there is another process that applies when they aren’t building any houses in the area where you live.

No, you apply in the same way for an RDP house. That is, by applying for a housing subsidy at the offices of the Gauteng Department of Housing. After your application is approved, says the Department, you are linked to a specific housing project. “On completion of that project, a list of approved beneficiaries is sent to the City of Joburg Housing Department for allocation.”

The Gauteng Housing Department says that in each municipality the waiting period differs as “local conditions dictate what area should receive assistance first.”

“After your registration, you will be included into the waiting list for RDP houses in Gauteng. You will appear on the province’s housing need register or municipal housing demand database. When the projects are complete, you might be allocated a house. During the Integrated Development Plan Forums, the government of South Africa occasionally gives a public briefing on when and how to check if your RDP house is out. In some cases, the municipality or province displays the details through their websites. Keep looking for signs of new developments and regularly visit the local housing offices for more information.” 

There is also a government Housing Subsidy Online System, which serves as a single point of entry to Housing Subsidy related matters for the whole of South Africa:

“HSS Online will provide visitors access to the housing statistics based on actual information derived from provincial human settlements databases. Registered users will gain access to live data relating to their specific projects.”

What we know is that it can take many years before you are allocated a house.

To qualify for an RDP house you must meet the National Housing Subsidy Scheme criteria. This means you must be:

1. A South African citizen
2. Over 21 and mentally competent to sign a contract
3. Married or living with a partner, or single and have dependants (single military veterans or aged people without dependents also qualify)
4. Earn less than R3,500 per month per household (so if two people in your family earn and these earnings amount to more than R3,500 per month you will not qualify)
5. A first time government subsidy recipient
6. A first time home owner

If you are disabled you are supposed to be given preference and your house is supposed to be adapted to meet your needs.

To apply for a government subsidy house take the following documents to a provincial office of the Department of Human Settlements, or your municipal offices:

1. Applicant and spouse’s identity documents (green book or ID card)
2. Certified copies of birth certificates of children
3. Proof of income if working, e.g. salary slip

You will be asked to fill in a housing subsidy application form. Depending on your province or municipality, you will then be registered on the National Housing Needs Register or your Municipal Housing Demands Database. This is a “waiting list”. Once the project is finalised and the houses built, you will be given keys and a title deed to your home, but it can take many years.

It is illegal to sell an RDP house before you’ve lived in it for eight years. It is illegal to rent out an RDP house.

To check how far you are on the waiting list for a house call 0800 146 873 or go to your municipality’s website.