The DA welcomes the Minister of Human Settlements’ announcement that as from 1 April 2022, individuals who have not qualified for Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) loans, due to them not qualifying for bank mortgages, will now be able to utilise other financial sources to buy a home.
This progress is due to the Western Cape Provincial Department of Housing’s consistent pressure on the National Department to revise the FLISP model.
This, despite the progress the DA run Western Cape has had in ensuring that their own FLISP targets are not only met, but exceeded.
To this end, 3 695 applications have been approved by the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements since April 2020, to date against a target of 1 800 between the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.
Conversely, in the past financial year, the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) – responsible for the disbursement of the FLISP subsidy grant – only managed to disburse R61 million of the R334 million FLISP grant, approving only R111 million in applications against a target of R267 million.
The reasons given for this have included a lack of bank qualifying applicants, as well as long turnaround times in the processing of FLISP applications.
The number of FLISP subsidies allocated to beneficiaries in the past financial year Nationally has been truly dismal, at 3161 against a target of 6685.
As a result of the revised model now approved by the Minister, aspirant home owners with an income of R 3 501 – R 22 000 per month will now be able to access FLISP through:
- the beneficiary’s pension or provident fund loan;
- a co-operative or community-based savings scheme, i.e. stokvel;
- the Government Employees Housing Scheme;
- any other Employer-Assisted Housing Scheme;
- an unsecured loan; and
- an Instalment Sale Agreement or Rent-to-own Agreement.
The DA welcomes the Minister’s openness in ensuring that proposals for better housing delivery models from all stakeholders, including the DA run Western Cape, are given her attention for the benefit of all South Africans.