The City of Joburg’s Development Planning and Housing Department has put together a draft inclusionary housing policy that closed for public comment at the end of April 2018. The draft policy proposes that every new development of ten dwelling units or more must include 20% inclusionary housing (households with an income of R7 000 or less per month). Incentives in the form of proportional bonuses in development controls, reduction in parking requirements, reductions in parks and bulk infrastructure contributions, and a rates rebate for the inclusionary units have been proposed. Unfortunately for developers, the fixed income band of R7 000 does not consider the difference in land costs in different areas.
This proposed 20% inclusionary housing requirement will affect the feasibility of residential developments and place a burden on private developers in an already difficult residential property market. Also, in terms of social impacts, according to commentary submitted by SAPOA, this policy may isolate low-income households in high-income markets, without access to affordable social facilities. The ability of the City of Joburg to meet the capacity requirements in order to monitor mandatory compliance with this policy is also concerning.
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